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Book .iii^ 

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CQEXRIGMT OETOSm 



The Correlation of 

Vocational and Liberal Education 

Through English Language 

and Literature 



By 

MARY BELLE HOOTON 



A THESLS 

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate College, University of Nebraska 

in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Master 

of Arts, and the Graduate Teacher's Diploma, 

Department of English Language 

and Literature 



LONG AND COMPANV 
i:ijl-(iational pubushki;-; 

UNCOLN, NEBU. 






n 



The Correlation of 

Vocational and Liberal Education 

Through English Language 

and Literature 



By 

MARY BELLE HOOTON 



A THESIS 



Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate College, University of Nebraska, 

in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Master 

of Arts, and the Graduate Teacher's Diploma, 

Department of English Language 

and Literature 



Lincoln, Nerraska 
June, 1917 



Copyright, 1918. by 

MARY BELLE HOOTON 

All Rights Reserved 



JUN -7 1918 ' 
©CI.A499279 



LONG AND COMPANY 

EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHERS 
LINCOLN, NKBR. 



^'M) I 



fi 



-J 



\3. 

',j CONTENTS 



Pages 

OUTLINE 5-7 

Part I 
INTRODUCTION 11-19 

Part J.1 
EXISTING CONDITIONS . 23-54 

Part III 
THE PROBLEM 57-83 

Part IV 
COURSE OF STUDY IN ENGLISH .... 87-115 

Part V 
CONTRIBUTIONS 119-159 

Part VI 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 163-166 



OUTLINE 
Introduction. 

A. English Language and Literature in Relation to Secondary 
Education. 

1. Agitation for Reorganization of English begins: 

a. National Education Association. 

(1) Reports of Committees on Secondary Schools: 
(a) Committee of Ten; (b) Committee of Fifteen; 
(c) Committee on College Entrance Require- 
ments. 

b. United States Bureau of Education. 

(1) Report (being printed) of Joint Committee on 
the Reorganization of English in the Secondary 
Schools — Representing the: (a) National Educa- 
tion Association; (b) National Council of 
Teachers of English. 

B. Education. 

1. Liberal Education. 

a. Develops, primarily, the intellectual and aesthetic 
capacities of the pupil's mind. 

b. Fits the individual to live among his fellow men. 

2. Vocational Education. 

a. Promotes, primarily, the capacity of the pupil to earn 
a living. 

b. Increases, primarily, the pupil's information or knowledge. 

C. Agitation for Reorganization of Public School System. 

L Bulletin 1916. No. 8. 

D. Vocational Literature and Readings in Relation to Second- 
ary Education. 

1. Agitation concerning Vocational Education with reference to 
Readings in English Language and Literature was begun by: 

a. Frank Parsons of Boston, etc. 

2. From the agitation a wave of investigation swept over a part 
of our country, concerning so-called Vocational Studies and 
Readings in English Language and Literature. The results 
were embodied in the reports of: 

a. Michigan Schools Grand Rapids. 

b. Minnesota Schools High Schools of the State. 

c. Nebraska Schools Lincoln. 

3. United States Bureau of Education. 

a. Vocational Guidance through English Composition. 
(1) Bulletin 1914. No. 14. 

4. Ideas not yet clear as to what material is best to use owing to: 

a. Ignorance of English teachers as to subject matter. 

b. Carelessness and indifference as to whether Vocational 
matter in English should be taught, etc. 

5 



5. The present trend of the movement is to: 

a. EnHghten teachers as to the best Vocational Literature, 
or Reading Matter. 

b. Benefit the pupil by correlating Vocational and Liberal 
Education through English Language and Literature. 

c. Protect and aid the pupil while he is preparing to 
become an efficient member of society. 

n. Existing Conditions. 

A. In some parts of United States as shown by: 
L Reports of School Surveys of the: 

a. Minnesota Schools. 

(1) Minneapolis Survey — for Vocational Education. 

b. Oregon Schools. 

(1) Portland Survey — of Public School System. 

c. Utah Schools. 

(1) Salt Lake City Survey— of Public School System. 

d. Virginia Schools. 

(1) Richmond Survey — for Vocational Education. 

2. Reports of U. S. Bureau of Education and the N. E. A. 

3. Questionnaires "A" and "B". 

III. The Problem. 

A. All phases of correlating Vocational and Liberal Education 
THROUGH English Language and Literature are not to be 
discussed in this thesis. Only the two phases, as to the: 

1. Subject matter of Vocational and General Literature. 

2. Method or process of correlating these two kinds of Literature 
which are of the Vocational and Liberal types of Education 
are to be considered. 

B. Correlation of Vocational and General Literature through: 

1. Study material in English Language and Literature. 

2. Reading material in English Language and Literature. 

3. Composition, or themes. 

a. Oral. 

b. Written. 

C. Method or process of correlation is to: 

1. Develop the cultural forces, or sensibilities of the: 

a. Vocationally trained pupil. 

b. Liberally trained pupil. 

2. Increase the knowledge or information of the: 

a. Vocationally trained pupil. 

b. Liberally trained pupil. 

3. Develop, primarily, the capacity of the vocationally trained 
pupil to: 

a. Earn a living. 

b. Become an efficient member of society. 



IV. Course of Study in English. 

A. Outline for twelve courses ust English: 

1. Prevocational and Junior High School, (three years.) 

a. Grades: 

VII B*; VII A; VIII B; VIII A; IX B; IX A. 

2. Senior High School, (three years.) 

a. Grades: 

X B, X A; XI B, XI A; XII B, XII A. 

V. Contributions. 

VI. Bibliography. 



*This is the lowest grade in the Junior High School. 

7 



PART I 

INTRODUCTION. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The early secondary schools, in this country, were patterned after like 
schools in England. The high school, as it exists to-day, was largely developed 
as in substitution for the old academy. This was, primarily, a preparatory 
school for colleges, and its course of study was predetermined by that fact. 
In the Latin-Grammar Schools of the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries 
only a few subjects were admitted since Latin and Greek were the groundwork 
of the college. To-day, in any high school which fits for college, there are as 
many different subjects as there are different Hnes of college study. The old- 
time uniformity has disappeared. The problem of preparing a course for the 
many students who will separate into widely different fields in future study 
or vocation had become complex, and in many of the smaller schools, it is 
well-nigh unsolvable. One of the fundamental questions relating to the 
high school of to-day is whether its education should be cultural or vocational. 
My idea of the primary purpose of the high school of to-day is to give personal 
culture, civic and moral development, physical efficiency and finally vocational 
efficiency. Our secondary schools should train and discipline pupils to think 
and know, to perceive and interpret, to analyze, at once and fully, difficult 
tasks and questions and to use good judgment through knowledge. The 
nation needs men who have been taken from the narrow surroundings of a 
somewhat simple life as well as those from the higher strata of society. A 
well-rounded education includes the development of the intellect, the sensibil- 
ities, and the volitional powers. Even Franklin's Academy followed largely 
the classical lines. He wrote and published a pamphlet, entitled "Proposals 
Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania," in which he outlined 
what presumably was his ideal of an education. His ideal of education was 
vocational in intent as well as cultural. He says: 

"As to their studies, it would be well if they could be taught every thing that is useful and 
every thing that is ornamental. But art is long and their time is short. It is therefore proposed, 
that they learn those things that are likely to be most useful and most ornamental, regard being 
had for the several professions for which they are intended." Franklin's own predilection "went 
no further than to procure the means of a good English education," and he particularly insisted 
in his pamphlet that the rector of the school should be "a correct, pure speaker and writer of 
English." (12). 

By secondary education, I mean the field of education which lies between 
the elementary education and that of the college and university, i. e., the 
public high school of to-day. Concerning the high schools. Carpenter, Baker 
and Scott have written: 



(12) Ford, pp. 106-116. 

11 



"In the wonderful period of the New England transcendental movement, the days of a great 
intellectual awakening throughout the people at large, there appeared the most striking educa- 
tional phenomenon of the last hundred years in America, the widespread and urgent demand for 
local, free, well-organized secondary instruction. Beginning in Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
the two great sources of educational progress as long as New England retained its pre-eminence, 
it found its way throughout the Union and resulted in every state in the establishment of high 
schools. Like the academy, the high school was the representative of two institutions, — the old 
Latin school and the new school for the people of which Franklin had dreamed. Wherever the 
high school represented the Latin school, — i. e., in its classical course, — the study of Engish 
scarcely entered into the curriculum; wherever it represented the school for the people — i. e., in 
its so-called English or scientific course — English was a part of the curriculum; but only to the 
degree described above in connection with the academies. 

Up to about 1876, then, there was scarcely to be found, in the United States, any definite, 
well-organized system of secondary instruction in the mother-tongue. We were virtually in the 
same condition that England now is, and at least fifty years behind Germany. The Americans 
have always been a reading people, and there was a growing interest among scholars and laymen 
in the English language and in English literature. But only here and there had this penetrated 
into the secondary school system." (7) 

It was not long after the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, 
before the elements which make up our curriculum in English came into 
existence. Declamation and oratory, best typified in lectures given at Harvard 
College in 1806-1808; instruction in Rhetoric and Composition as given in 
several American Colleges during the middle of the century; and English 
Literature as given in a meager way about 1875 were introduced and then 
developed with great rapidity. But what do we mean by literature? One 
literary critic with considerable insight has said: 

"Popularly, and among the thoughtless, it is held to include every thing that is printed 
in a book. Little logic is required to disturb that definition; the most thoughtless person is easily 
made aware, that in the idea of literature, one essential element is, — some relation to a general 
and common interest of man, so that, what applies only to a local, or professional, or merely 
personal interest, even though presenting itself in the shape of a book, will not belong to literature. 
So far the definition is easily narrowed; and it is as easily expanded. For not only is much that 
takes a station in books not literature; but inversely, much that really is literature never reaches 
a station in books. The weekly sermons of Christendom, that vast pulpit literature which acts 
so extensively upon the human mind — to warn, to uphold, to renew, to comfort, to alarm, does 
not attain the sanctuary of libraries in the ten-thousandth part of its extent. The drama again, 
as for instance, the finest of Shakespeare's plays in England, and all leading Athenian plays in 
the noontide of the Attic stage, operated as literature on the public mind, and were (according 
to the strictest letter of that term) published through the audiences that witnessed their representa- 
tion some time before they were published as things to be read; and they were published in this 
scenical mode of pubUcation with mucli more effect than they could have had as books, therefore, 
do not suggest an idea co-extensive and interchangeable with the idea of literature; since much 
literature, scenic, forensic, or didactic (as from lectures and public orators), may never come 
into books; and much that does come into books, may connect itself with no literary interest.^ 
But a far more important correction, applicable to the common vague idea of literature, is to be 
sought — not so much in a better definition of literature, as in a sharper distinction of the two 
functions which it fulfils. In that great social organ, which, correctly, we call literature, there 



(7) Carpenter, Baker and Scott, p. 46. 

»What are called The Blue Books, by which title are understood the folio Reports issued 
every session of Parliament by committees of the two Houses, and stitched into blue covers, — 
though often sneered at by the ignorant as so much waste paper, will be acknowledged gratefully 
by those who have used them diligently, as the main well-heads of all accurate information as 
to the Great Britain of this day. As an immense depository of faithful (and not superannuated) 
statistics, they are indispensible to the honest student. But no man would therefore class the 
Blue Boohs as literature. 

12 



may be distinguished two separate offices that may blend and often do so, but capable, severally, 
of a severe insulation, and naturally fitted for reciprocal repulsion. There is first, the literature 
of knowledge; and, secondly, the literature of power. The function of the first is — to teach; the 
function of the second — to move; the first is a rudder; the second, an oar or a sail. The first 
speaks to the mere discursive understanding; the second speaks ultimately, it may happen, to 
the higher understanding or reason, but always through affections of pleasure and sympathy." (11) 

Arnold Bennett in "Literary Taste — How to Form It," says: 

"I have only one cautionary word to utter. You may be saying to yourself: 'So long as I 
stick to classics, I cannot go wrong.' You can go wrong. You can, while reading naught but 
very fine stuff, commit the grave error of reading too much of one kind of stuff. Now there are 
two kinds and only two kinds. These two kinds are not prose and poetry, nor are they divided 
the one from the other by any differences of form or subject. They are the inspiring kind and 
the informing kind. No other genuine division exists in literature. Emerson, I think, first 
clearly stated it. His terms were literature of "power" and the literature of "knowledge". In 
nearly all great literature the two qualities are to be found in company,, but one usually predomi- 
nates over the other. An example of the exclusively inspiring kind is Coleridge's Kuhla Kahn. 
I cannot recall any first-class example of the purely informing kind. The nearest approach to 
it that I can name is Spencer's First Principles, which, however, is at least once highly inspiring. 
An example in which the inspiring quality predominates is Ivanhoe; and an example in which 
the informing quality predominates is Hazlitt's essays on Shakespeare's characters. You must 
avoid undue preference to the kind in which the inspiring quality predominates or to the kind 
in which the informing quality predominates. Too much of the one is enervating; too much 
of the other is desiccating. If you stick exclusively to the one you may become a mere debauchee 
of the emotions; if you stick exclusively to the other you may cease to live in any full sense. 
I do not say you should hold the balance exactly between the two kinds. Your taste will come 
into the scale. What I say is that neither kind must be neglected." (4) 

"The high school has ceased to be mainly a preparatory school. This fact explains why 
there is a movement for the reorganization of the English course and indicates what the general 
character of the reorganization is likely to be. Agitation for reform in English is not unique. 
It is identical in spirit with the effort to develop a better type of course in history, mathematics, 
science, and foreign languages, and has much in common with current demands for increased 
emphasis upon art, music, physical education, manual training, agriculture, and domestic science. 
After more than half a century of struggle, the public high school has definitely established itself 
as a continuation of common school education, as a finishing school (in the good sense of that 
term) rather than a fitting school, and now recognizing its freedom and its responsibility, it has sfet 
to work in earnest to adjust itself to its main task." (33) 

It was then, in 1876, that a remarkable movement began, which had the 
result of making the study of English pre-eminent in the more important 
colleges and putting it in a distinguished place in the secondary schools. The 
desire for this change came partly from the colleges and partly from the 
secondary schools themselves. In 1873-1874, Harvard instituted an entrance 
examination in English in favor of grammatical and rhetorical accuracy in the 
use of English on the part of the students entering college. The preparatory 
schools were necessarily bound to keep pace with this. The high school 
authorities, on the other hand, were little concerned about what was taught 
in colleges, simply desiring to give to their pupils the wisest, most thorough 
course possible in English Literature and English Composition. The agita- 
tion has been carried on by conventions, conferences, reports of committees 



(11) De Quincey, pp. 3-4. 
(4) Bennett, pp. 68-69. 

(33) Report of National Joint Committee on the Reorganization of High-School English. 
(Being printed now by the United States Bureau of Education.) 

13 



and in our educational press until great interest has been aroused throughout 
the country on the subject of a graded course in English instruction; and 
definite principles have been formulated on which instruction in English may 
be based. 

The admission requirements in English, 1873-1874, at Harvard College 
were important because they established a type of preparation and examina- 
tion which has existed even up to the present time. This example of Harvard 
was followed by other colleges and led to the formation of the commission of 
New England Colleges on admission examinations, which undertook the task 
of formulating from year to year the requirements in English. Several attempts 
were made to secure uniformity in English. The National Education Associa- 
tion (N. E. A.) showed a marked interest in the teaching of English and the 
pubHcation of the report of the National Committee of Ten on English in 
Secondary Schools gave a new basis to instruction in English. This admirable 
report was the first attempt in England or America, to systematize secondary 
instruction in Enghsh. 

The Committee of Fifteen on Elementary Education (1895) which recom- 
mended a systematic course in English for the elementary schools and the 
Committee on College Entrance Requirements (1899) which formulated a 
course of study leading to the College Requirements and the Report of the 
Committee of Ten which formulated, primarily, a course of study for the 
secondary schools, have had two marked results which are as follows: (45) 

1. Great interest has been aroused throughout the country regarding a 
graded course of instruction in English. 

2. Definite principles have been formulated on which instruction in 
Enghsh may be based. 

The custom of giving certain master pieces of English literature as the 
basis of written tests became firmly established, Yale College, in 1892 ha\ang 
begun it, but the test in oral reading seems to have been omitted. 

The National Education Association tried to follow up the Committee 
of Ten by appointing a Committee of College Entrance Requirements in 
English, the report being published, July, 1899. The point of view was still 
that of preparation for college, however, so the English course could not be 
'considered on its merits as contributing to the needs of the pupil, irrespective 
of whether he is to enter vocational work or not. The ideal course in the 
high school is such as aims to prepare for either the Academic course or the 
Vocaiional one. 

For the last five years a "Report of the Joint Committee on the Re- 
organization of English in the Secondary Schools," representing the National 
Education Association and the National Council of Teachers of English has 
been in preparation and is now being printed by the United States Bureau 
of Education which will soon be available for use among the teachers of 
English. This suggestive outline of the High School Course in English deals 
mainly, if not altogether, with the general course in Literature omitting that 
which I deem very important in this present Industrial Age, namely, the 



(45) Committtee of Ten, p. 86. 

14 



suggestive outline for Vocational Literature. This is very much needed, at 
the present time, in order that the pupil may keep in touch with the vocational 
life now. It is certainly commendable in that it recommends very highly 
oral and written composition and largely applied technical grammar. As the 
aim of the course is that of a "finishing" school rather than that of a "fitting" 
school it should provide, somewhat, for Vocational Literature. 

Education is development or applied psychology. One phase of the 
entire educational process from the point of view of the purposes which may be 
kept in view in selecting and appraising methods and means is that: 

"All ordinary education readily lends itself to a fourfold division in this connection. 
(a) There is a kind of education whose chief aim is to produce and preserve bodily efficiency, 
such as health, strength, and working power. This we call broadly physical education, (b) Next 
is the kind of education whose chief aim is to earn a living or expressed in more s^oeial terms the 
capacity to do one's share of the productive work of the world, (c) A third form of education 
is designed, primarily, to fit the individual to live among his fellows. Religious education, mental 
instruction, and training in civics contribute to this end. (d) There is, furthermore, the kind of 
education that aims to develop intellectual and aesthetic capacities, apart from any practical use 
to which these may be put. This education is frequently designated by the term "cultural", 
but in a .somewhat special sense of the word. The two last divisions, which contribute respectively 
to the improvement of social life and to the development of personal culture, will in this discussion 
be grouped together under the general designation, "liberal education". That education whose 
chief aim is to fit for productive capacity will be designated as "vocational." (38) 

The entire educational process in a broad sense, may be considered, then 
on the basis of a two-fold classification: liberal and vocational. 

"WHAT IS LIBERAL EDUCATION? 

Historically speaking, a liberal education is that which aims to broaden the intellectual 
and the emotional horizon of the individual, and especially in those fields that are not involved 
in the earning of a livelihood. * * * 

Liberal education may be interpreted as that which concerns itself with the consuming, as 
opposed to the productive processes of life. Each individual uses in greater or less degree, accord- 
ing to his cultivation and social capacity the world's stock of literature, history, music, art, science, 
and human associations, as well as embodiments of these in more material forms. It is the func- 
tion of Hberal education to teach persons how to use or how to consume to the best individual 
or social advantage the work of others. Liberal education is not, primarily, concerned with the 
making of the efficient producer, altho it makes important indirect contribution to that end; 
but it is vocational education which aims to train the producer as such, and it looks primarily 
towards specialization * * *. 

Th these later days we have learned more about the psychological side of liberal education. 
We have discovered that so far as large numbers of individuals are' concerned the truest form of 
liberal education does not consist in dealing with those things that are most remote from the 
practical affairs of daily life. 

WHAT IS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION? 

In vocational education, the choice of materials and methods is primarily determined by 
the necessities of some of the numerous callings or groups of related callings, into which the workers 
of the world have divided themselves. 

That vocational education which is specialized to the preparation of lawyers, physicians, 
and teachers, we call professional; that which is designated to train the bookkeeper, clerk, stenog- 
rapher, or commercial traveler, including leadership, we call commercial; that which is organ- 
ized with reference to the bricklayer, the machinist, the shoemaker, the metal worker, the factory- 
hand and the higher manufacturing pursuits, we call industrial education; that which conveys 



(38) Snedden, pp. 3-4. 

15 



skill and knowledge looking to the tillage of the soil and the management of domestic animals 
we call agricultural; and that which teaches the girl dressmaking, cooking and management of 
the home, we call education in the household arts." (38) 

The types of vocatidnal education then are: 

1. Professional. 3. Agricultural. 

2. Commercial. 4. Household Arts,' etc. 
Liberal education develops, primarily, the intellectual and aesthetic 

capacities and fits the individual to live among his fellow men but it does not 
promote, primarily, the capacity to earn a living nor does it increase, primarily, 
the pupil's vocational information. 

Vocational education promotes, primarily, the capacity of the pupil to 
earn a living and increases, primarily, the pupil's information or knowledge 
but does not, primarily, develop the cultural forces of the pupil's mind. 

There is also an agitation for the reorganization of the Public School 
System and the reorganization of the Secondary School System as well as for 
the reorganization of English in order to provide better accommodations for 
both the vocationally trained pupil and the liberally trained one. 

The Committee of Ten declares: 

"The secondary schools of the United States, taken as a whole, do not exist for the purpose 
of preparing boys and girls for college. Only an insignificant percentage of the graduates of 
these schools go to colleges or scientific schools. Their main function is to prepare for the duties 
of life that small proportion of all the children in the country — a proportion small in number, 
but very important to the welfare of the nation — who show themselves able to profit by an edu- 
cation prolonged to the eighteenth year and whose parents are able to support them while they 
remain so long at school." 

And, again, the Committee says: 

"A secondary-school program intended for national use must therefore be made for those 
children whose education is not to be pursued beyond the secondary school. The preparation 
of a few pupils for college or scientific school should in the ordinary secondary school, be the in- 
cidental and not the principal object." * * * 

The Committee of Fifteen reported as follows: 

"Your committee is agreed that the time devoted to the elementary school work should 
not be reduced from eight years, but have recommended, as hereinbefore stated, that in the 
seventh and eighth years a modified form of algebra be introduced in place of advanced arithmetic 
and that in the eighth year English grammar yield place to Latin." * * * 

The Committee on College Entrance Requirements makes the following 
recommendations : 

"In our opinion it is important that the last two grades that now precede the high-school 
course should be incorporated in it, and, wherever practicable, the instruction in thos^ two grades 
should be given under the supervision of the high-school teacher." * * * 

President Butler, in seeking to define the scope of secondary education 
and its purpose, gave an illuminating characterization of both the elementary 
and secondary periods of school life. This characterization, in part, follows: 



(38) Snedden, pp. 4-9. 

'Sometimes called the "Practical Arts ". The ' 'Practical Arts", a term used in Prevocational 
Schools — Grades VII-VIII-IX which includes Manual Training, Cooking, Sewing, etc. It is 
also called Domestic Science. In some cases "Practical Arts" includes Industrial Arts, Agricul- 
ture and Domestic Science. 

16 



"Elementary education I define as that general training in the elements of knowledge that 
is suitable for a pupil from the age of 6 or 7 to the period of adolescence. It is ordinarily organ- 
ized in either eight or nine grades, each occupying an academical year. Nine grades are too 
many and are distinctly wasteful. To spend so much time on these simple studies leads to that 
arrested development which is so often the bane of the elementary school period. I have never 
known a child who needed more than six years' time in which to complete the elementary course, 
and I have known but few who have, as an actual fact, ever taken longer than that. * * * The 
secondary school period is essentially the period of adolescence, of what may be called the active 
adolescence as distinguished from the later and less violent manifestations of physical and mental 
change that are now usually included under the term. The normal years are, with us from 12 to 
16, or from 13 to 17. The normal boy or girl who is going to college ought to enter at 17 at the 
latest. * * * It is in the elimination of elementary studies from the secondary school and the frank 
recognition of the paramount advantage of the elective system that I see the way of highest 
usefulness opening before the secondary school." 

This address by President Butler and the report of the Committee on 
College Entrance Requirements, with the debate which the positive recom- 
mendations of the latter aroused, closed the first decade of the discussion 
looking toward a functional articulation of the parts of the school system. 

During the second decade a paper by Dr. E. W. Lyttle, state inspector 
of high schools for New York, on the subject, "Should the Twelve- Year Course 
of Study Be Equally Divided Between the Elementary School and the Sec- 
ondary?" was given. 

"This led, in 1905, to the appointing of a standing committee to consider the question of 
dividing the 12 years equally between elementary and secondary schools. Dr. Lyttle advocated, 
in the paper just referred to, such a division, on the grounds that the eight-year grade course is 
the result of a desire to attain "perfection in the fundamentals"; that there is a pedagogical 
point where secondary education should begin, which occurs when the child has acquired the 
tools of an education, and at a point coinciding with the dawn of adolescence; that this period 
is characterized in both the content and method of instruction; and that a six-year high-school 
course would lend itself in the eleventh and twelfth grades to a differentiation along lines of 
business, mechanical arts, and professional preparation." (46) 

In the reorganization plan under which the school department of Berkeley, 
California, is now working, which was inaugurated in January, 1910, the 
twelve grades, or years, are divided into three groups, the elementary, com- 
prising the first six years of school life; the lower high school (called Prevoca- 
tional and Junior High School or Intermediate, or Central School in some 
places) comprising the seventh, eighth, and ninth years; and the higher or 
high school, embracing all pupils of the tenth, eleventh and twelfth years. 
In this thesis the plan is for a Prevocational and Junior High School of three 
years and a Senior High of three years duration, i. e., on the basis of a "six- 
thrjee-three " plan. 

As to the agitation concerning Vocational Education with reference to 
Readings in English Language and Literature, or along the lines of Vocational 
Guidance the following statement is made by J. B. Davis, of Grand Rapids, 
Michigan: 

"The first work done in vocational guidance that was done in the United States was not 
connected with the public school system. Men who had to deal with the drifting thousands of 
people that are always looking for a job or some better position than the one at the present time 
occupied, were the first to realize the need of helping these unfortunate wanderers into the kind 



(46) U. S. Bulletin of Education, pp. 49-65. 
17 



of labor for which they were by nature and experience best fitted. To Mr. Frank Parsons of the 
vocation bureau of Civic Service Home in Boston is due the credit for introducing the methods 
of vocational guidance that have proved so valuable to the workers in all branches of the move- 
ment." (10) 

A wave of investigation and a desire to know just what should be done 
in Vocational Education with reference to Readings and Studies in English 
Language and Literature resulted, in one instance, in the publishing of a book 
"Vocational and Moral Guidance", by J. B. Davis, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. 
This book helped to lay the foundation for some so-called Vocational Readings 
in a number of the schools. 

In the Suggestive Outlines — For Study Courses in Minnesota High 
Schools (prepared by a special Committee of High School Superintendents) 
the following is given: 

"That school is a part of life is a fact that pupils often fail to realize. To awaken possibilities 
and responsibilities of life, the Central High School of Grand Rapids, Michigan, originated the 
plan for vocational and moral guidance. The operation of the plan in that high school has not 
only given a moral instruction but it has also furnished vital topics for theme writing. The 
themes on vocational topics do not take more than one-fourth of the time given to composition." 

This excerpt is followed by a somewhat similar outline for "Vocational 
Guidance through English Composition," as given in "Vocational and Moral 
Guidance", by J. B. Davis — with similar Readings, and also as given in a 
United States Bureau of Education Bulletin which will be indicated later. 

Not only is the Minnesota Vocational Reading Matter based largely on 
this material but the so-called Vocational Readings of the Lincoln, Nebraska, 
Schools are also largely based upon it. The following outline, though sovie- 
what changed is largely used by the Lincoln, Nebraska, Schools and is indicated 
in "Vocational Guidance", Bulletin, 1914. No. 14. 

"VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE THROUGH ENGLISH COMPOSITION. 

Work in the Grand Rapids (Mich.) High Schools under Jesse B. Davis, vocational director. 
Members of the vocational conference were admitted to the classrooms to observe the pupils 
in the discussion of vocational topics according to the following outline: 
Seventh-grade theme: Vocational ambition. 

Purpose, to arouse within the pupil a desire to be somebody and something worth while 

in the world. 
Eighth-grade theme: The value of an education. 

Purpose, to impress upon the pupil the need and means of obtaining some further 

preparation for life than that of the grammar grades of the public schools. 
Ninth-grade theme, first semester: The elements of character that make for success in life. 

Purpose, to draw out an understanding of real success in life and how it is obtained, 

and to apply the fundamental lessons of character building to the needs of each pupil. 
Ninth-grade theme, second semester: Vocational biographj/. 

Purpose, to continue the same lessons from the lives of successful men and women in 

varied fields of endeavor. 
Tenth-grade theme, first semester: The world's work. 

Purpose, to study vocation in general in order that the pupil's vision of the call to 

service may be as broad as possible. 
Tenth-grade theme, second semester: Choosing a vocation. 

Purpose, to attempt to select that vocation or general field of occupation for which 

the pupil by self-analysis seems best fitted. 



(10) Davis, p. 137. 

18 



Eleventh-grade theme, first semester: Preparation for life's work. 

Purpose, to plan out a definite course of study and conduct to meet the special require- 
ments of the profession, business, or industry chosen. 

Eleventh-grade theme, second semester: Vocational ethics. 

Purpose, to study the moral problems peculiar to the chosen business, profession, or 
occupation. 

Twelfth-grade theme, first semester: Social ethics. 

Purpose, to study the relation of the individual in his future vocation to society. 

Twelfth-grade theme, second semester: Civic ethics. 

Purpose, to study the relation of the individual in his future vocation to the state." (48) 

As to the General Literature of the recently mentioned schools it is very 
good with the exception, perhaps, of classifying some of our very best General 
Literature under Vocational Readings. To me, "The Perfect Tribute" 
(Lincoln) as classed by J. B. Davis under Vocational Biography, is Literature 
of power, and not Literature of knowledge. "Helen Keller — "Story of My 
Life" and also "The Perfect Tribute" (Lincoln) are classed by the Lincoln, 
Nebraska, Schools under Vocational Biography. This to me, seems a wrong 
classification, as I think both of these belong, properly, under Literature of 
power and should be classed as General Literature, belonging primarily to 
Liberal Education rather than to Vocational Education. I further think that 
all or at least most of these Vocational Readings as given may be classed 
more properly under what De Quincey calls the "Middle Zone". Yet, at the 
same time, we will get better results if we have a clear-cut distinctive list for 
General Literature and also one for Vocational Literature. Then the other 
Readings may be put under "C" as in the present outlined Course of Study 
and may belong to the " Middle Zone" for the time-being, until better classified 
or until tested and tried out. 

' 'The reason why the broad distinction between the two literatures of power and knowledge so 
little fix the attention, lies in the fact, that a vast proportion of books — history, biography, travels, 
miscellaneous essays, etc., lying in a middle zone, confound these distinctions by inter-blending 
them. All that we call 'amusement' or 'entertainment', is a diluted form of power belonging 
to passion, and also a mixed form; and where threads of direct instructions intermingle in the 
texture with these threads of power, this absorption of duality into one representative nuance 
neutralizes the separate perception of either. Fused into a tertium quid, or neutral state, they 
disappear to the popular eye as the repelling forces, which in fact, they are." (11) 

The one thing now needful, owing to the ignorance of English teachers as 
to subject matter to be used in Vocational Literature, and the carelessness and 
indifference as to whether Vocational Literature or Vocational Reading matter 
should be taught in English is to enlighten teachers as to the best Vocational 
Literature, or Reading matter. The present purpose of this thesis is to benefit 
the pupil, as well as the teacher, by correlating Vocational and Liberal Educa- 
tion through English Language and Literature by using both the Literature 
of power and the Literature of knowledge so the pupil may be protected and 
aided while he is preparing to be an efficient member of society. 

The problem in correlating Vocational and Liberal Education through 
English Language and Literature is to give culture as well as knowledge or 
information to the vocationally trained pupil and knowledge or information 
as well as culture to the culturally trained one. How may this be done? 



(48) United States Bureau, p. 91. 
(11) De Quincey, p. 11. 

19 



Part II. 
EXISTING CONDITIONS 



EXISTING CONDITIONS. 

In order to ascertain the existing conditions of English Language and 
Literature in the schools of the United States, reports from School Surveys; 
reports from United States Bureau of Education; reports from National 
Education Association; and two forms of Questionnaires, "A" and "B", 
were decided upon as the minimum amount of investigation in the attempt 
to secure reliable data upon which to base any conclusions or recommendations. 

From the Report of the Minneapolis Survey for Vocational Education 
(Jan. 1, 1916) I have selected the vocational courses in English which seem 
to me very meager. These courses with some suggestions and remarks are 
indicated as follows: 

"SUMMARY OF THE CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVITIES OF THE SURVEY AND CON- 
CLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SURVEY COMMITTEE. 

1. Analysis of the knowledge necessary for successful salesmanship shows that there is a 
definite teachable content in retail salesmanship. 

2. Less than an elementary school education is not enough for store work, and a high 
school education is desirable. * * * 

OUTLINES OF COURSE OF STUDY WORKED OUT BY THE SURVEY WITH THE 
TRADES AND APPROVED BY THEM. 

Two courses of study for girls and women and four for boys and men are given. In the 
case of women, salesmanship and garment-making were taken because they represent two widely 
different lines of employment. They also represent the two largest lines of employment for girls 
and women. 

In the case of the men's trades, three courses of study were chosen to represent day, dull 
season and evening classes, giving instruction for the occupations of carpenter, bricklayer, and 
telephone worker, respectively. A fourth course offers suggestions as to the subject-matter 
which should be taught to the workers in the milling industry, while a fifth gives the technical 
course for boys which has just been established at the Central High School. * * * 

COURSES FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN. 

Courses for girls and women are outlined as follows:' 

1. SALESMANSHIP. 
I. Introductory Course. 

For aisle girls, messengers, stock keepers, and others who wish to qualify as sales persons. 
(1) To test the general ability. (2) To determine the attitude toward store work, and (3) to 
serve as a basis for eliminating those lacking fundamental education. 
2. English and spelling. 

A. Oral English. 

a. For ability to express simple information about merchandise correctly; 
(b) for use in greeting a customer and ordinary conversation. 

B. Dictation exercise to test: 

a. Ability to take customer's orders or directions. 

b. Common facts about merchandise. 

C. Spelling lists of words selected to suit the needs and ability of each group of 
beginners. 

a. Words in common use; b. Names of merchandise; c. Narties of streets. '•"'"'' 



'Just courses in English only are given. 

23 



II. Elementary Salesmanship. 

(1) To test the talent for salesmanship, (2) to serve as a basis for eliminating those unsuited 
for store work, (3) to assist in classifying workers as stock-keepers, sales persons, or office 
workers. 

1. Salesmanship. * * * 

3. English. 

A. Oral. 

a. Talking about merchandise; b. repeating and giving directions; c. tele- 
phone conversation; d. talking to employers when appljang in person for 
a position. 

B. Written. 

a. Business letters. 

aa. Letters of inquiry; bb. answers to inquiries. 

b. Short description of merchandise. 

C. Dictation. 

a. Directions for amounts, kinds of merchandise; b. names and addresses 
of customers; c. short business letters. 

D. Reading such literature on salesmanship and merchandise as beginners can 
understand. 

a. Salesmanship literature; b. descriptions of merchandise, methods of manu- 
facture; c. trade journals. 

E. Spelling. 

a. Words in common use; b. names of merchandise, especially the kinds that 
are being handled from day to day, and new merchandise; c. drill in 
names of streets; d. abbreviations in common use. * * * 

III. Salesmanship and department duties. 

Pupils for these courses (when given in the store) should be taken from the departments 
having merchandise with points in common. This course is a continuation of the elementary 
course. Its aims are (1) to develop selling ability, (2) to give specific information about 
merchandise and methods obtaining such information, (3) to give methods for learning new 
points about merchandise, and (4) to develop ability to meet and deal with people. * * * 

3. English. 

A. Oral continuation of the work outlined in the previous course as applied to the 
demonstration sales and talks about merchandise. 

B. Written. 

a. Description of merchandise; b. plans for demonstration sales; c. selling 
talks; d. taking notes from buyers' talks and advisers' talks. 

C. Reading. 

a. Keep up-to-date with the trade journals; b. methods for manufacture of 
merchandise; c. current magazines and newspapers for general informa- 
tion; d. literature, selected classics. * * * 
ADVANCED COURSE IN SALESMANSHIP for persons who have been in the store a year 
or more. To be conducted as class work or club work, for persons selected from allied depart- 
ments. The object of this course is to develop a knowledge of scientific salesmanship and 
study of merchandise. * * * 

4. Required Readings from trade journals and books on salesmanship discussed and 
debated. 

5. Current literature, magazines, newspapers for general information. * * * 
7. Literature selected classics. 

2. Garment-making Industries. 

(1) *** 

(2) Business English." 

In the Course of Study for boys and men the EngHsh seems to be very 
much neglected for in carpentry, bricklaying, cement, telephony, and flour 
mills, no mention was made of English except in one case. Then only the 
word English was written under carpentry. 



24 



"SUGGESTIONS FOR COURSES OF STUDY FOR PRE VOCATIONAL CLASSES. 

A. Academic work to occupy approximately half the time of the pupil: 

1. English: Language work, based on reading, much of it to bear upon the industries; 
composition, dealing with the occupational work in the school and the industries vi^ted by the 
pupil; business correspondence, business forms, spelling and the ability to interpret printed 
directions and to carry on business correspondence. 

The two-year course of study includes salesmanship, bookkeeping, shorthand, typewriting, 
English, civics, hygiene, office training and practice, physical training, cooking (once a week) 
and arithmetic and penmanship for those who are weak in those subjects. * * * 

The essential educational qualifications are practically the same for all occupations in the 
trade, though artistic qualifications may vary considerable. One should have a knowledge of 
the fundamental processes of arithmetic and common and decimal fractions and simple percentage; 
sufficient knowledge of English to speak and write clearly; ability to spell words in common use 
and the names of materials used in the trade; and a knowledge of such simple business forms 
as a bill, a receipt, a check, a money order, and how to indorse a check or money order. 

Several dressmakers expressed themselves as very much in favor of vocational training in 
sewing and dressmaking and of such instruction in art as might be correlated with dressmaking. 
Several dressmakers when asked how much education a girl should have in order to make the 
dressmaking trade her vocation said, in substance: 'As much as they can get. The girl who 
lacks education cannot get ahead.' Only one was, 'I don't care anything about her education 
so long as she can sew.' 

Ability to take directions readily and carry them out accurately, initiative, alertness, prompt- 
ness, and willingness are among the personal qualities every worker must have if she is to rise 
above the level of the lower occupations in the trade. The power to observe and to visualize, a 
quality which helps to develop artistic ability, is necessary for success in the dressmaking trade. 
All workers in the trade should have a knowledge of colors and color harmony, and good taste in 
the arrangement of colors, trimmings and the lines of the garment. Creative ability, as in the 
planning of gowns to suit individual persons, is a very high order of art which relatively few 
persons in the trade acquire. * * * 

Certain personal and artistic qualifications are essential to the success of the millinery worker. 
Adaptability which enables her to keep a flexible point of view with regard to methods of work 
and changing standards of fashion is especially important, since the trade is so largely dependent 
upon style. The power to observe and visualize is probably equally important, since much of the 
milliner's creative power is a result of her ability to use with originality any details that con- 
tribute to artistic head dress. Adaptability is largely a matter of temperament, a quality which 
training cannot supply, while the power to observe and visualize, though perhaps somewhat 
innate, may be developed by experience in and training for the trade. 

The essential education qualifications in the millinery trade are common to all occupations 
in trade. A knowledge of arithmetic through fractions and simple percentage, sufficient English 
to speak and write clearly, ability to spell words in common use and names of materials used in 
the trade, and a knowledge of business forms are the most important requirements. * * * 

PROMOTION OF WORKERS. 

Naturally a person entering any kind of business or profession is interested in knowing 
what are the chances of promotion and what he must do or be in order to be promoted. On the 
other hand, if employers are to be expected to promote workers they have a right to demand 
that persons asking for promotion shall deserve it. Many employees in stores are dissatisfied 
because they are receiving only a small wage. When some of these were asked what they had 
done to deserve promotion, they replied: 'Nothing', or 'I've tried to do my best every day.' 
When asked if they were aware of having any deficiencies, or if they were doing their work as 
well as it could be done, they hesitated, perhaps did not answer at all, or said, 'I suppose we all 
have deficiencies.' 

' 'A few of the brightest and most progressive gave with quickness and intelligence, some of 
the following answers: 'I need to know stock better'; 'I couldn't be a buyer because I couldn't 
train others'; 'I lack confidence'; 'I lack experience in serving customers'; 'I lack knowledge 
of values'; 'I can't talk well enough'; 'I do not use English well'; 'I do not always handle 
customers in the right way '. One young woman who had had two years in high school and two 
years in normal school said that she didn't have enough education." 

25 



"When heads of departments were asked what were the deficiencies of those who worked 
under their direction, they gave such replies as these: 'They are indifferent to the store, to 
customers, and to themselves'; 'they fail to grasp the idea of service in merchandising'; they 
visit too much with each other, with friends who come in and over the telephone'; and 'they 
will not take responsibility'. 

Other replies were: 'They lack knowledge of stock and do not keep stock properly'; 'they 
lack accuracy in the use of arithmetic and English, and their language is crude and full of slang ' ; 
'they can't judge people'; 'they lack self-control and self-confidence'." (29) 

In the Survey of the Portland Schools the Survey Committee in order 
to secure greater efficiency in English as well as in other studies advocated a 
change in the school syslem which is indicated below with their verdict regard- 
ing English: 

"To summarize this discussion of the types of additional schools needed, the following recom- 
mendations are made: 

1. The school system should be reorganized, to secure greater educational efficiency, into 
the following units: 

a. Kindergarten, one year. 

b. Elementary schools, six years. 

c. Intermediate schools, three years. 

d. High schools, five years (three or four years now; five ultimately). 

The Present System of Elementary and Secondary Instruction. 

This can be made a truly American system, fitted to meet the social, professional, industrial, 
and commercial needs of American boys and girls. 

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY INSTRUCTION. 

In the personal study of the schools it was thought preferable to devote all of the limited 
time to a few schools, that might be considered typical, rather than to divide the time among all 
the schools. Carrying out this plan, the following schools were studied: The three high schools, 
one day being devoted to each; the School of Trades, one forenoon; the School for the Deaf, 
Brooklyn School, one forenoon; the Highland School, one full day; the Alerta School, one full 
day; the Glencoe School, one morning; the Holladay School, one full day; the Couch School, 
one forenoon; the Failing School, one forenoon; and the Shattuck School, one afternoon. The 
inspection of the work of the elementary schools was so planned that some exercises were seen in 
all subjects; in the principal subjects — reading, language, arithmetic, geography, and history — 
exercises were seen in every grade of each subject, and usually in more than one class, some- 
times in several classes of a grade. * * * 

SOME SIGNIFICANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONTENT OF THE 
ELEMENTARY COURSE OF STUDY. 

In respect to content— and lack of content — the elementary course of study presents the 
following significant characteristics: * * * 

2. The overwhelmingly abstract and bookish character of the course as a whole, ofifering 
far too little that is suitable to the education of that large minority, if not actual majority, of 
children who must be educated through contact with concrete things. 

3. The excessive amount of time given to technical grammar. 

4. Inadequate attention to composition, both oral and written. 

EXCESSIVE ATTENTION GIVEN TO TECHNICAL GRAMMAR LARGELY WASTED 
EFFORT. 

In the published course of study the general term "language" is used to designate work 
both in technical grammar and in composition. In practice three exercises per week are devoted 
to the former, and two to the latter. So far as could be discovered by listening to several exercises, 



(29) Minneapolis Survey, pp. 412-696. 

26 



both in grammar and in composition, and by talking with teachers, these subjects as taught are 
just about as independent as arithmetic and history. It does not appear that grammar, in the 
elementary course of study, is contributing 'to a deeper appreciation of literature and to the 
development of power in composition', as the 'Syllabus of the Course in English'' for the Port- 
land High Schools rightly maintains to be the sole function of this subject. 

The grammar prescribed is abstract and technical in the extreme, and the assignment for 
every grade far beyond the real comprehension of most pupils of that grade. Beginning with 
Third B, and continuing through Sixth A, pupils have been required to study, in Modern English 
Lessons, about as much grammar as could be made of practical value in the entire elementary 
course; but with the Sixth B the extensive study of technical grammar begins in real earnest. 
From this point on, the assignments are from Buehler's Modern English Grammar, a book best 
suited to high school grades, but entirely out of place in the sixth and seventh grades. After 
three and one-half years' study of this technical book in the elementary schools, from page 15 
to page 358 inclusive, the same book is again prescribed for three years of further study in the 
high schools. To make the matter worse, the high school instruction begins at the beginning, 
with the simple sentence and the parts of speech. 

It is scarcely too much to say that the time now devoted to technical grammar in grades 
six to nine inclusive is wasted. In these grades not more than one-half as much time as now 
should be given to" grammar, and that not technical, but practical and comprehensible to the 
pupil. 

COMPOSITION NEGLECTED. 

The time and attention devoted to composition is as inadequate as that devoted to grammar 
is excessive. While two exercises per week are given to the former and three to the latter, com- 
position does not appear actually to receive as much as two-fifths of the effort expended on 
'language'. It is quite possible that the final term examinations are largely responsible for the 
preponderance of emphasis on grammar, out of proportion to the time allotment. However this 
may be, typical term examinations fairly represent the relative importance that seems to be 
accorded these two phases of 'language'; in these examinations the relative value of composition, 
as compared with that of grammar, certainly appears as something less than the ratio of two to 
three. Following is a copy of the final term examination, given in January, 1913, and covering 
the work in grammar for the seventh grade: 

GRAMMAR EXAMINATION QUESTIONS— SEVENTH GRADE. 

I. a. Define Complement. 

b. Give example of each kind of complement in a sentence. 
II. a. Select the complements in the following, tell the kind, giving reason for your answer in 
the case: 

1. A soft answer turneth away wrath. 

2. The great forest became the home of Robin Hood. 

3. They considered him a brave sea-captain, 
b. Define Indirect Object, etc. 

COMPOSITION VERY POOR. 

The work in composition is scarcely better. Although this subject is examined, it is treated, 
as has already been pointed out, as of quite subordinate importance in comparison with technical 
grammar. Although I inquired frequently and on many occasions when I was investigating 
other subjects, in no single classroom was I able to find a single piece of a pupil's work in written 
composition in the possession of the teacher. No literary or content value seemed to be attached 
by teachers or pupils to any of the latter's written work. Such work as teachers were able to 
secure from pupils for my inspection was presented in pads of the greatest variety in size, shape, 
and appearance, but uniformly of very poor paper. The appearance of these pads as a whole, 
and of the individual pieces of composition which they contained, was unattractive in the 
extreme — slovenly is not too strong a term to apply to most of this matter. 

There is no little evidence that attention in written composition is focused almost entirely 
on form, to the neglect of content. The instruction observed and pupil's written work strongly 
indicate this. Indeed, in the published course of study for the grammar grades the only direction 



'Page 166. 

27 



or suggestion regarding written composition strongly implies that correctness of form — which in 
practice almost invariably means correct spelling, correct use of capitals and marks of punctua- 
tion — constitutes the chief purpose of instruction on this subject. In the language prescription 
for Sixth A, Part Thirty-one, occurs the following direction, to which reference is made in every 
one of the succeeding twenty-three parts of the grammar course: 

'There should be regular exercise in written composition. The work should for the most 
part be impromptu, the writing being done in the schoolroom under the eye of the teacher. 

"The work should be criticised by having specimens placed on the blackboard. These 
specimens should then be made the subject of class criticism. All typical errors will be reached 
in this way, and the comments of the teacher will be better understood than her pencil marks 
upon the pupil's papers." 

"Impromptu work, followed by blackboard criticism of 'typical errors', does not constitute 
a method of precedure likely to result in developing individuality of thought and expression, in- 
dependence and self-confidence in giving expression to one's own ideas, and pride in the finished 
product of one's efforts. Predominance of attention to form, as has been abundantly demon- 
strated by schools that have tried it — and this is almost everywhere the prevailing method of 
teaching composition, it must be admitted — never produces even tolerably satisfactory formal 
results. This failure was evident in practically all the composition seen in the Portland schools — 
the form was as poor as the content. Composition might well be one of the most interesting 
and valuable studies of the elementary schools, serving almost as no other subject can to develop 
rich individuality, is evidently carried on as a routine class exercise; one teacher's practice of 
'occasionally looking at individual work when pupils get careless', is probably not confined to 
that one teacher. Composition, that may be an inspiration and opportunity, is all too evidently 
drudgery for pupils and teachers'." 

"LITERARY AND PRE-VOCATIONAL COURSES. 

Courses appropriate to this intermediate period are of two general types, which may be 
designated as literary and pre-vocational. As these names suggest, those of the former type 
are more abstract, bookish, and theoretical, while those of the latter are more concrete and im- 
mediately practical. The literary courses are more closely allied, in content and method, to the 
present grammar and the first year of the literary high school courses. 
The subjects composing the literary courses should be as follows: 
1. English: Literature, written and oral composition, and elements of grammar. * * * 

PURPOSE OF THE PRE-VOCATIONAL COURSES. 

The pre-vocational courses appropriate to this intermediate period should serve two ends, 
not dissimilar in their demands: (1) they should prepare for the vocational courses of the sec- 
ondary period those pupils who continue in school beyond the intermediate period; and (2) they 
should give those pupils who conclude their schooling with this period some definite and practical 
preparation for entrance into some particular field of usefulness. These prevocational courses 
should be distinguished from each other as well as from the literary courses by the immediate 
practical study which should be prominent in each of them. * * * Each one of these prevocational 
courses will involve the study of the following subjects, made concrete and practical and correlated 
with the practical subject that distinguishes the course: 

1. English: Composition and literature. * * * 

PUPIL'S CAPACITIES AND INTERESTS TESTED IN THE INTERMEDIATE STAGE. 

In addition to serving definitely the varied needs of individual boys and girls, as these have 
become evident previous to entrance upon this intermediate period, the variety and range of 
instruction offered in the literary and pre-vocational courses of this period should serve to test 
the interests and to bring out the special capacities of most of those pupils whose educational 
needs have not previously declared themselves, so that when the work of the secondary period is 
reached, it will be possible to determine intelligently, in the case of most pupils, what their sec- 
ondary course of study should be. While considerable beginnings in differentiation have been 
made in this intermediate period, so much of the instruction has been essentially common to all 
courses — the English, arithmetic, history, and geography — that any pupil whose capacity and 
interests make it advisable can change his course at any time during this intermediate period, 
or even at the beginning of the secondary period, and adjust himself without great diflSculty to 
any course that promises greater benefit to him. 

28 



4. THE SECONDARY SCHOOL. 

SECONDARY INSTRUCTION DETERMINED BY LENGTH OF TIME PUPIL WILL 
CONTINUE IN SCHOOL. 

The instruction of the secondary period must carry much further the differentiation begun 
in the intermediate period, in order to meet the further differentiated needs of the youth in 
this secondary period. The length of time that a pupil will probably continue in school now 
becomes one of the most important considerations in determining what that pupil's instruction 
should be. Indeed, because the probable length of a pupil's schooling is usually, to a large 
extent, the resultant of that pupil's capacity and interests, as well as his economic circumstances, 
this factor of time may safely be given first consideration in determining, in a general way, the 
character of the course of instruction that will prove most beneficial. 

PREPARATORY AND VOCATIONAL COURSES OF WIDE RANGE. 

Hence it is that the wide range of secondary courses of instruction, adequate to the diverse 
needs of thousands of youth in this secondary period, naturally falls into two groups, which may 
be designated respectively as preparatory and vocational. The former group of courses, as their 
suggested designation implies, should prepare for admission to the work of higher institutions — 
colleges, universities, normal schools, and other schools for advanced special training — those 
students who are to continue their education beyond this secondary period. The latter group of 
courses, the vocational, should prepare for immediate, definite service — through a wide range of 
specifically practical instruction, adapted on the one hand to the wide range of individual capacity 
and interest, and on the other to the diversified needs of the community — those whose schooling 
is to terminate with this secondary period. 

All complete courses of this period should be so planned as to call normally for three years 
work. Yet they should be flexible enough in arrangement and administration to meet individual 
capacity and conditions, especially permitting and encouraging part-time work, where circum- 
stances make this necessary, and in such cases extending over a longer period than three years. 
The vocational courses should be so arranged that pupils who leave them at any point, of necessity 
or otherwise, will find themselves prepared, in proportion to the time and effort that they have 
so far devoted to their training, to render service in their chosen field." (30) 

"REPORT OF THE SURVEY OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM OF SALT LAKE 

CITY, UTAH. 

Authorized by resolution of the Board of Education, May 4, 1915. 

SURVEY STAFF. 

Ellwood P. Cubberley, Professor of Education, Leland Stanford Junior University. Director of 

the Survey: Administration; Finances. 
James H. Van Sickle, Superintendent of City Schools, Springfield, Massachusetts. Course of 

Study; Instruction. 
Lewis M. Terman, Associate Professor of Education, Leland Stanford Junior University, School 

Buildings; Health Supervision; Physical Education. 
Jesse B. Sears, Assistant Professor of Education, Leland Stanford Junior University. Efficiency 

Tests. 
J. Harold Williams, Research Fellow, Leland Stanford Junior University. Progress of Pupils: 

Statistical Work; Drawings. 

Types of examination tests used. To show the type of examination given by the super- 
visors, and the mental qualities they are designed to test, we reproduce a few typical examination 
papers from the collection supplied us while at work in Salt Lake City. 

FINAL EXAMINATION— EIGHTH B CLASS. 
Group I 

1. Illustrate a. a phrase as subject of the sentence, b. a clause as object of a preposition, 
c. a co-ordinate clause, d. a phrase modifying a noun used as subjective complement. 



(30) Portland Survey, pp. 124-219. 

29 



2. Choose the proper word and fill in the blanks of the following sentences, also give reasons 
for your choice: 

a. Not one of the boys (was, were) there. 

b. The book (lay, laid) on the table yesterday. 

c. Deal (gentle, gently) with them. 

d. For you and (me, I) there are many opportunities. 

e. (Has, have) either of you an extra pencil? 

3. Diagram the following sentences: 

At the back of Mount Tipanogas, not fifty miles away, is a glacier exhibiting all 
the characteristics of ice streams. 

4. Use each of the following words first as a noun, then as an adjective, then as a verb: 
blind, sound, spring. 

5. Classify: a. words, b. sentences, c. phrases, according to use. 
Group II. 

6. Write the plural form of the following words: Tooth, Mary, Miss, Clark, German, 
baby, journey, chief, wolf, father-in-law. 

7. Give the principal parts of the following verbs: Go, sit, lie, dig, set, do, eat, come, lay. 

8. Account for the case form of the underlined pronouns in the following sentences: 

a. WE girls are going on an excursion. 

b. Did you see Mary and ME at the theater? 

c. Neither speaker had prepared HIS speech. 

d. I am in a higher class than SHE. 

e. The money belongs to US four boys. 

9. Write a sentence containing two subordinate clauses, one performing the office of an 
adjective, and the other the office of an adverb. 

10. Explain and illustrate the difference in meaning between the following words: 

At and in, between and among, besides and beside, by and with, in and into. 

Note that children compose in answering these questions. They are not analyzing the 
sentences of others. 

The quality of the grade supervision. * * * 

In another bulletin the following sound characterization of the use of grammar is given 
for the benefit of principals and teachers of seventh and eighth grades: 

The teaching of grammar must be justified by the educational results that are immediate 
rather than those remote. These results should be, a. clearer thinking, b. increased power to 
interpret language. 

It is better to select a few topics in grammar and to teach them well than endeavor to teach 
too many topics. Whenever the facts and principles being studied have no concrete meaning 
to the child they are not serving the educational purpose intended. Verbal memory has little 
place in teaching this subject. Classifications and definitions should follow concrete knowledge 
of many individual words or expressions and not precede this knowledge. In other words, they 
should grow out of the child's fund of information and his powers of comparison. 

Good points about the bulletin are: 

1. Flexibility — the supervisor realizes that conditions determine the remedies to be applied. 

2". Definiteness of directions. 

3. The ultimate end is never lost sight of. The various means suggested are always 
practical. They reflect supervisors who have studied the results of the teachers' work and who 
possess readiness and resourcefulness in suggesting remedies for difficulties. 

4. The insisting upon thoroughness, upon student power, not alone a mastery of facts, as 
an ultimate test of teaching is constantly emphasized. 

5. The human element in the directions should tend to make the teachers sympathetic 
and stimulating. 

6. The relation of subject to subject is well brought out in indicating supervisors who see 
all of the subjects as parts of a plan to develop a single consistent purpose. 

II. DESIRABLE EXTENSIONS. 

The Junior High School. The plan now well under way in Salt Lake City, by which grades 
seven, eight, and nine are organized departmentally as the Junior high school, is in line with 
progressive practice elsewhere. Already sixty-eight cities have such organizations, and many 

30 



more are contemplating this feature. These organizations differ as to the grades included, 
whether two or three; as to housing, whether in separate building, or with lower grades, or 
high school proper; and again as to subjects included in the course of study. Some common 
characteristics appear. After the si,xth grade, pupils are allowed some choice among studies, they 
anticipate some of the work of the high school proper, and they are taught on the departmental 
plan. 

The plan as yet imperfectly developed. In Salt Lake City the organization calls ultimately 
for three grades, the seventh, eighth, and, as pupils of the two grades below accomplish work which 
calls for high school credits, the ninth. A, good beginning has been made, and the plan merits 
full development. It seems to the survey, however, that instead of scattering the units of the 
organization throughout the city it would be better far, both financially and educationally, to 
bring the pupils of the Junior high school grades together in larger numbers. Since the schools 
throughout the city are now so crowded that rooms not intended for school use are being utilized 
as class rooms, it is evident that new buildings must be erected to relieve the congestion. The 
needed relief should be provided by erecting four or five new buildings expressly for the Junior 
high school work, leaving existing buildings for the use of grades one tu six. This would make 
better grading possible and also provide larger classes, thus reducing the per capita cost of in- 
struction. It would also remove two grades, the seventh and eighth, from all existing buildings, 
in itself a gain of no small importance. 

The work cannot be properly developed in so many small scattered centers. But enough 
differentiation can be arranged to meet the varying needs of the children. At present pre- 
vocational needs of the children of Salt Lake City are not sufficiently provided for. A choice of 
German, Latin, or French is open to pupils, and in one center the arithmetic of the eighth grade 
has a commercial trend; but there is little provision for those non-literary pupils who, though 
not defective in intellect, are not sufficiently apt in deahng with symbols to get their education 
chiefly from books. Not only for these but also for another group of boys and girls, normal in 
every respect but who will inevitably leave school at an early age, courses should be offered which 
give definite industrial training. 

Nature and method of the composition test. The test, which is explained in the following 
paragraphs from a circular put in the hands of the teachers, was given in grades four to eight 
inclusive, in the 19 schools selected for the testing work. 

COMPOSITION TEST. 

1. Each teacher is requested to ask her children to write a composition for her on the 
following theme: 

'Suppose that you have twenty dollars, which you have given to spend. You have five 
friends, and you decide to spend it in such a manner as will give the most pleasure to each. Tell 
what you would do or buy for each friend. The amount spent for- each friend need not be the 
same, but the total for the five must be twenty dollars.' 

2. The composition should be written with pen and ink on the regular writing paper. 

3. After the children are ready for writing, read the subject to them, give them a minute 
or two to ask questions, and as soon as you are sure that the children understand what they are 
to do, start them at writing. 

4. When the children have finished collect the papers, fasten those for each class together 
with a clip, and send to the office of the school principal. 

No teacher marked her own papers, hence the personal equation probably entered very 
slightly into the scoring, which was done by the use of the Hillegas scale for measuring the quality 
of English composition.* 

In all there were 3,043 compositions written, representing a sample of slightly more than 
16 per cent of the children in the elementary schools of the city. 

The results of the test. The results of this test are shown briefly in the following tables 
and diagram. 

In Table No. 18 a complete distribution of scores attained by each grade is shown, together 
with the median score attained by each grade. From this table it may be seen that the degree 
of efficiency rises gradually from grade four to grade eight. That is, from this test it appears 



*Hillegas, Milo B. — A scale for the Measurement of Quality in English Composition by 
Young People. Published by Teachers College, Columbia University, 1912. 

31 



that the average child in the Salt Lake City schools, during the course of 4 years' training in 
English composition, may be expected to gain in efficiency the equivalent of two and one-half 
points on this scale, or at the rate of .6 point per year. According to the Butte Survey* the 
progress of a child in that city is at the rate of .45. 

Samples of average composition. In order that the reader may judge for himself of the 
quality of the work the schools are doing in composition, the children's papers from the different 
schools have been looked over and those papers from each grade which received the score nearest 
median (approximately the average) for the grade have been sorted out. From these the following 
compositions have been selected as typical illustrations, not of the best or the poorest, but of 
the average composition from each grade tested. They are presented here exactly as written, 
spelled, and punctuated in the original, except that proper names have been omitted. * * * 

No. 4. GRADE 7B, SCORE 4.74 (WRITTEN BY A BOY 14 YEARS, 3 MONTHS). 

One sunny morning in May my five cousins who were on their way to see the fair at Frisco 
stopped on their way and came to see me. My father gave me twenty dollars to entertain them. 
I was busy thinking of the best way to do it. I finally decided to go to the Bingham Copper 
Mines. This was satisfactory to all and taking along a lunch we started off. 

When we got there it was noon and everybody was hungry so we opened up the lunch and 
ate until there was not a crumb left. Next we hired a guid to show us through the mines and 
what a sight we seen. There were walls of dirt seemingly covered with the yellow mettle. Our 
guid showed us where the elevators were on which they sent the copper to the top. Next he 
showed us the donkeys which hauled the dump cart to the elevators. After taking us through 
all the mines he showed us where the minors lived. 

Here our journey ended after each buying a souvenir we departed for home, each one satisfied 
with the way of spending twenty dollars. 

No. 5. GRADE 8B. SCORE 5.85. (WRITTEN BY A BOY, AGE ?) 
Dear J 

Two days ago uncle gave me twenty dollars, to get Christmas presents with. I was on my 
way down town, to get them, when I saw two ragged little boys. I stopped and said, to them, 
'Well, Johnny, what are you going to get for Chistmas.' 

'I aint going to get nothing this Christmas, for mama hasn't got any money.' Where do 
you live. 'Across the street in that wooden house,' answered the boy. 

You take this five dollars over to your mamma and then hurry back and I will take you 
up town. So I took them up town, and got them some warm clothes and then took them to a 
show. So I spent fifteen dollars on three of them. There was Mother and Father left, so I got 
father a shaving set which cost three dollars and a half and I got Mother some Hadkerchiefs for 
a dollar and a half which took all my money. Merry Christmas. 

Your old friend, 

H . 

On the formal side there are plenty of errors in these papers, in spelling, in punctuation, in 
sentence formation, etc., and one or two seem rather formal and dry. But in most of them there 
is evidence of some play of the imagination, and fairly free expression. Most of the vocabularies 
seem adequate, and in such details these samples seem to indicate that the composition work is 
fairly well taught. It must be remembered that these are but average compositions, and not 
compositions selected because of their special merit. 

Conclusions and recommendations. It should be said then in conclusion: * * * 

4th. From the compositions written there is ample evidence that the excellent aims for 
English work, as set forth in the printed course of study, are being achieved, and that many of the 
common errors of teaching the formal and technical aspects of English work are being successfully 
avoided. 

5th. It is recommended that a portion of the time now devoted to formal spelling drill 
be given over, in the early grades, to the broader work in English, and that by the use of ungraded 
rooms, smaller classes, and more elastic methods of promotion, the very bright and the very 
dull pupils be given more adequate attention than is either possible or economical under the 
present classification. * * * 



♦Report of the Survey of the School System of Butte, Montana. Published by the Board 
of Education, 1914. 

32 



The use of standardized tests. A final word may be said about the use of standard tests. 
First, we desire to commend the use the supervisors and principals have been making of these 
modern educational tools. Teachers should become familiar with such scale and tests as have 
been used here, not with how they were made, but with how to use them. The teacher who is 
able to measure her own product, or to have it measured by the supervisor, will develop confidence 
in her methods or discover reasons for changing them.. 

As an instrument in supervision, tests are indispensable. Of course testing can never 
displace constructive helpful criticism, but standardized tests furnish a rational basis for such 
criticism, without which the best supervision is handicapped. So far as was observed they are 
being properly used by the principals and supervisors, but they may even go further in displacing 
the ordinary form of school examination". (31) 

In the Vocational Educational Survey of Richmond, Virginia, I find the 
following indicated: 

" 'Academic work (approximately half time). English: Language work based on reading, 
much of the reading to bear upon industries: Composition, dealing with the occupational work of 
the school, business correspondence, business forms, spelling, and penmanship.' 

The printing industrj' seems to have a somewhat special course in English but others avail 
themselves of this course also. The following brief outlines will suggest the kinds of topics to 
be studied and the methods of treatment. The outline is somewhat similar to the Technical 
Course in English. 

1. Grammar and word study: * * * 

2. Punctuation: * * * 

3. Capitals and small capitals: * * * 

4. Division of words: * * * 

5. Compound words: * * * 

6. Abbreviations and signs: * * * 

7. Uses of italics: * * * 

8. Proof reading: * * * 

9. Preparation of printers copy:" (32) 

As to reports from the United States Bureau of Education the following 
is taken from "A Brief Summary of the Forthcoming Report of the National 
Joint Committee of the Reorganization of High-School English" (which is 
being printed at the present time by the United States Bureau of Education). 
This report shows the point of view of the Committee. Among the eight 
points' as given will be found some essentials to success in teaching high school 
English, such as (1) a properly trained teacher, a reorganized school syfitem, etc. 
The points are as follows: 

1. "The college-preparatory function of the high school is a minor one. Hence the Jtigh- 
school course in English should be organized primarily with reference to basic personal and social 
needs. School life that is genuine and hearty is the only satisfactory preparation for either "life" 
or college. 

2. The chief problem of articulation is with the elementary school and can best be solved 
by regarding the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades as the first stage of high-school ivork. 

3. A' varying social background must now be assumed and provided for. Nevertheless, the 
chief elements of the English course are universal and may furnish typical experiences for all. 

4. English is not merely a formal subject, capable of being mastered at a certain point in 
the curriculum and then dropped. Life and language grow together; hence the study of English 
should continue throughout the school period. Only so much of technique should be taught at any 
one time as will actually enable pupils to improve their use and understanding of the vernacular. 

5. Language is social in nature; therefore the study of English should appeal to pupils by 
reason of actual social use and recognized social value. Composition should be regarded as a 



(31) Salt Lake City Survey, pp. 113-146. 

(32) U. S. Department of Labor, pp. 287-289. 



33 



sincere attempt to communicate ideas, and literature, both classic and modern, should become 
an expression of the pupil's own interests and ideals and an interpretation of his own experience. 

6. The study of English as a training for efficient work should be distinguished from the 
study of it as a preparation for the wholesome enjoyments of leisure. This_will make possible that 
co-operation of all departments which is essential in establishing good habits of reading, of thought, 
and of expression. 

7. The conducting of a school paper and the organization of literary and dramatic clubs 
should be encouraged and directed because of the opportunity they afford for free play for the 
mind and practice in expression. The spirit of the club — and of the laboratory and the shop as 
well — should animate the English classroom itself. This is now much hindered in the cities by 
the excessive numher of pupils imposed upon the teacher. A second limitation to free, individual 
eflfort is found in the absences of suitable libraries and reading-rooms. Good English work requires 
adequate equipment. • 

8. The supreme essential to success in high-school English, however, is neither the course 
nor the conditions, but the properly trained teacher. He should be a professional imbued with 
the amateur spirit, having good scholarship, mature judgment, rational educational standards, 
and objective methods of measuring results". (33) 

The Report of the Committee of Ten on the Study of English embraced 
the following: English Language, English Grammar, Composition, Rhetoric 
and Composition. As stated before in this thesis their verdict was that: 
"The main direct objects of the teaching of English in schools seem to be 
two: (1) 'to enable the pupil to understand the expressed thoughts of others 
and to give expression to thoughts of his own; and (2) to cultivate a taste 
for reading, to give the pupil some acquaintance with good literature, and to 
furnish him with the means of extending that acquaintance.' " 

Thus it seems, that the fundamental divisions of the English curriculum 
are the existing conditions of to-day as well as of 1894. The main direct 
objects to-day also are similar. 

In order to heUer ascertain the condition of English Language and Liter- 
ature in the schools of the United States, two questionnaires were sent out 
called Questionnaire "A" and Questionnaire "B". Questionnaire "A", which 
was sent to City Superintendents of Schools, read as follows: 

Questionnaire "A". 

Under the direction of the Department of English, Graduate School of 
Education, University of Nebraska, I am gathering data on the Correlation 
of Vocational and Liberal Education through English Language and Literature 
for a six-three-three High School curriculum. 

I shall greatly appreciate any information you may be able to give me 
by letter or printed matter which may assist in properly unifying Vocational 
and Liberal Education through English Language and Literature. 

Please indicate: 

1. Name of city. 2. Your name. 3. Name of school. 



(33) A Brief Summary of the Report, pp. 2-3. 

34 



Questions. 

I. What preparation do you expsct of pupils entering the first year 
high school (Grade VII) as to: 

1. Technical English. 

a. The extent of their vocabulary? 

b. Their knowledge of English Grammar? 

c. Punctuation and capitalization? 

d. Sentence structure, etc.? 

2. Their power of oral and written expression? 

3. What readings and studies in English should be accomplished? 

II. What should be accomplished in the first year junior high school 
English (Grade VII) as to: 

1. Technical English. 

a. Errors in speech? 

b. Grammar? 

2. What facts, principles and laws of composition should be learned? 

3. What particular things should the pupil be trained to do in oral 
and written composition? 

4. What vocational and cultural readings and studies should be 
required? 

III. What should be the character of the work in English as to: 

1. Material used, i. e., exercises or illustrative material? 

2. The kinds of subjects for compositions? 

3. Kinds of work, i. e., letter-writing, verse WTiting, book-reviews, 
essays, debating, etc.? 

IV. How do you test the work from month to month: 

1. For increase of knowledge? 

2. For growth in power of expression? 

3. For increase in the development of sensibility? 

V. How do you judge of the work at the end of the year: 

1. For knowledge of language structure, grammar and the principles 
of composition? 

2. For power of expression, both oral and written? 

3. For interest in good books and the ability to read them intelligently? 

VI. What is your purpose or aim in the six-three-three high school 
as to: 

1. Teaching English in the junior high school (Grades VII, VIII, IX) 
as a whole? 

2. Teaching EngHsh in the senior high school (Grades X, XI, XII) as 
a whole? 

3. What vocational and cultural subject matter (studies and readings) 
do you use in the senior and junior high school with reference to 
the correlation of Vocational and Liberal Education through English 
Language and Literature? 



35 



VII. Do you approve of supervised study in English Language and 
Literature as to: 

1. Discovering the capacities and aptitudes of pupils for English? 

2. Recognizing individual differences in pupils? 

VIII. How far does English Language and Literature in the modern 
high school supply the needs of adolescents? 

IX. Have you a Vocational Bureau in your school? To what extent 
is English considered, in connection with this bureau? 

X. Additional Comments. 

P. S. — Please request the head of the Department of English to answer 
these questions. 

To these questions the following replies were given: 

To the question I, 1, a. The answers were: "Such as you would expect 
them to have by careful following of the course of study up to this time"; 
"Many pupils have a vocabulary of not more than a thousand words, prob- 
ably"; "I cannot answer. It varies with Nationalities. I do not know that 
this has been measured"; "See 'Course of Study' ". 

To question I, 1, b. One said, "Very limited; less, much less than 
course of study would seem to indicate; another replied, "Knowledge of 
Grammar is elementary"; Another said, "Simplest elements"; and one said, 
"They have a pretty fair knowledge of Technical grammar". 

To question I, 1, c. There were various answers. One was, "Uses of 
capitals, periods, question mark and quotation mark are known. This knowl- 
edge, however, is not always put to use"; another said, "Very good for their 
age"; and still another said, "Ordinary uses of period, comma, and interroga- 
tion point and the Elementary uses of capitals". 

To question I, 1, d. Two rephed, "Simple, compound, and complex 
sentences"; one said, "Just fair"; another replied, "They know the three 
kinds of sentences, but use of the complex sentence is limited". 

To question I, 2. The answers were various. One was, "Most have 
had good training in topical recitations, from biography, story telling, and 
above all in geography". Another said, "Some come from homes rich in 
supplementary material, and these are rich in ideas and speech, if there has 
been any sympathetic relation between the elders and the children"; another 
replied, "Very hmited"; still others said, "Varies widely with home environ- 
ment"; "To speak and write in such a way as to make their meaning clear". 

To question I, 3. The replies were as follows: "The aim is shown in 
the Course of Study. Some schools are rich in supplementary material, but 
many are poor. Limitation to a series of reading books, just a little too 
difficult, has deadly results upon reading habits"; "Longfellow, heroic poems, 
selected poems of Nature, poems of patriotism, and prose hero stories are 
used and myths"; "Interpretation of poems and pictures found in their 
readers, memory gems, short selections of prose and poetry, preferably by 
local authors, and dealing with local history". One replied, "We are now 
discussing this phase". 

To question II, 1, a. ■ The answers were, "Recognition of errors in mates 

36 



and as heard outside of the schoolroom in home or street, steadily asked with 
increasing sensitiveness"; "These should be catalogued and cared for"; 
"Disagreement of subject and predicate; confusion of adjective and adverb — 
Forms of plural nouns"; "A beginning is made with the grosser errors". 

To question II, 1, b. There were various answers. One said, "Strong 
verbs and use of pronouns, the main subjects of practice"; another said, 
"The general outlines without the study of fine points, such as infinitive, 
etc."; and another replied, "We complete the subject of grammar in the last 
half of the first year. Especial emphasis is placed on the verb". 

To question II, 2. The replies were as follows: "A broader use of the 
complex sentence should be acquired. A beginning should be made in para- 
graphing and paragraph development. Transposition of sentences for the 
sake of smoothness should be touched. Narration and Description as forms 
should be learned " ; " Develop the paragraph idea. Teach the form of personal 
business letters, informal notes of invitation, acceptance and declination"; 
"The ipechanics. Then set them to writing. Pupil should be given eyes 
and sense of arrangement". 

To question II, 3. One replied, "They should be trained to give short 
oral stories, descriptions, etc., without notes. This should eliminate some 
errors of spoken EngHsh. In written work they should be trained to write 
complete sentences. They should be able to write one page stories, and 
descriptions fairly correct as to paragraphing, spelling, punctuation, and 
diction"; another said, "Greater readiness in the use of all material. 
Geography offers the richest field"; another, "Avoidance of and and so habit 
in oral and written composition. Place a period at the end of every complete 
sense thought. Recognition of the distinction between what is a complete 
sentence, and what is not"; and still another said, "Get facts to them. 
Arrange them in interesting form". 

To question II, 4. Answers were as follows: "Our classes in Com- 
mercial English read current magazines, including advertisements. Especial 
attention is given to System, and Saturday Evening Post. Books, i. e., fiction 
dealing with business life should be used"; "Whatever interests chiefly"; 
"At least one good book should be read each month, and a report thereon 
made". 

To question III, 1. One replied: "Use 1. Examples of the Text. 
2. Original examples of teachers. 3. Illustrations from readers and other texts. 
4. The themes of the pupils". Another said, "Exercises and illustrative 
material should be based on pupils' experience"; another replied, "I can't 
say". 

To question III, 2. The answers varied. One rephed, "Out of the 
liveliest experience the children have; with some, it will come from the play- 
ground, with others from books and reading"; another wrote, "Subjects for 
composition should be drawn largely from pupils' experiences, descriptions of 
pets, vacation trips, home work, etc."; another replied as follows: "I should 
use wholly concrete subjects at first. Then historical, imaginative, etc."; 
and still another said, "Dictation for capitahzation and punctuation, Repro- 
duction; Narration of incidents, stories, paraphrasing of poems, Biographical 
sketches of characters in history, Interpretation of pictures and poetry". 

37 



To question III, 3. The answers were: "Much letter writing; verse 
writing if it be spontaneous and natural for the individual; no book reviews 
further than condensation of story or other subject matter. Great interest 
can be secured in oral work through discussion. A first-class recitation is 
always a debate"; "Some work might be done in business and social letter 
writing. We do this in the second year, however, verse writing and especially 
essay writing, may well wait. Book reviews, if given, should be brief. Critical 
judgment is not abundant yet. Debating arouses keen interest. Subjects 
should be carefully chosen, that facts alone may be dealt with, and theorizing 
and wrangling may be avoided"; "Original themes dealing with experiences, 
which are, or should be, a part of the child's life; with events chiefly local, of 
which the child has, or should have, knowledge. No verse writing, book 
reviews, or essays are written. No debates required. An oral report in the 
nature of a summary of a book each month is required.". 

To question IV, 1. The answers were as follows: "Monthly tests"; 
"We do not do this successfully"; "Usual way"; "The test at the end of 
each six week period usually consists of a written examination dealing with the 
vital parts of the subject matter of the period". 

To question IV, Z- One said, "A comparison of written Themes " ; 
another said, "Usual way"; and still another said, "Frequently the examina- 
tion mentioned under 2 is graded as an exercise in English. Pupils are in- 
formed of this and are given time to write with the same care used in preparing 
themes, also, the themes, from week to week, serve to show this growth". 

To question IV, 3. Only two answers were given: 1st, "Usual way"; 
2nd, "The selection of books for home reading from a general recommended 
list indicates this development to a certain extent". 

To question V, 1. Replies were as follows: "We give general test"; 
"Examinations"; "In all subjects where possible, by comparison of early 
work with last work, early work having been saved for such purpose"; "The 
final examination and the last few themes, show the use of this knowledge. 
Questions of fact are covered in the subject matter of this examination". 

To question V, 2. These answers were given: "By the teacher's judg- 
ment based on a daily record of school performance, for it is assumed that 
she has memory and sense"; "Can't say"; "Examinations"; "The form 
of the final examination. When sufficient time is allowed — or rather, when 
questions are sufficiently short — and the later themes test the power of written 
expression". 

To question V, 3. Three replied as follows: "No formal way"; "Some 
effort is made to keep track of library lists, and summer reading"; another 
said, "Home reading is given some credit. A large list of desirable books is 
offered. The books which the pupils choose are an index to interest and 
ability". 

To question VI, 1. Two answers were given: "To teach, to economize 
English"; "The aims laid down for various courses are 'To arouse interest 
in literature for composition. To master the main facts of technical grammar. 
To appeal to and to stimulate the pupil's interest; to secure correctness; 
and to establish elementary standards of tests' ". 



To question VI, 2. Three replied. One said, "Same thing"; another 
said, "If you cannot guess from the spirit of what has been written above 
then it is useless to write further". The other said, "To develop ideals of 
citizenship and patriotism. To develop an individual style and discriminating 
literary taste, etc." 

To question VI, 3. One said, "I do not understand this question". 

To question VII, 1. These replies were given: "Depends upon the 
Supervisor"; "Yes"; "No"; "Of course"; "The greatest possibilities for super- 
vised study lie in English composition. I see little value in it for the study 
of literature, except in directing outside reading. If conditions allow special 
work in reading, much, of course, may be done for the individual". 

To question VII, 2. Two said, "Yes"; one said, "No"; the others 
replied, "Of course, it certainly should be helpful in discovering individual 
differences". 

To question VIII. One replied as follows: " Danger of too much difficulty 
in selection used; also danger of making subject too soft to secure so-called 
interest"; another repHed, "Just fairly well"; one said, "To a very limited 
degree"; and still another said, "Their chief needs are these: Correctness 
in writing and speaking; a taste for the better forms of literature. I know 
of no school which meets these needs wholly. All, I think make a marked 
improvement, especially in writing". 

To question IX. Two answered, "No"; one replied as follows, "English 
is considered in connection with nearly every subject and a monthly rating 
in English is given by all teachers of other subjects than English"; another 
replied, "Our vocational work so far has l^een such as the conventional courses 
in commerce, manual training, normal training, etc." 

To Additional Comments, there were no replies. 

As a partial survey to Questionnaire "A" I find there were very 
few "Junior High Schools" reported. Most of the superintendents re- 
ported "No Junior High Schools" but sent "Courses of Study" from which 
certain deductions could be made which will be stated in the final summary. 
In the list sent out, I find in the returns the following junior high schools 
mentioned: "Binford Junior High School", Richmond, Virginia; "Detroit 
Junior High School", Detroit, Michigan; "Washington Junior High School", 
Rochester, New York; "Junior Course", Hope Street High School (a small 
class), Providence, Rhode Island; " Prevocational and Junior High School", 
Lincoln, Nebraska; "The Intermediate Schools" (VII-VIII-IX Grades) of 
Berkeley, California, are really Junior High Schools, only a difference of 
name exists. I find in my research work that there are probably about one 
hundred "Junior High Schools", many saying they are preparing the way for 
this kind of school. 

To the questions the City Superintendents from the following cities 
replied: 

Ann Arbor, Michigan. Detroit, Michigan. 

■Atlanta, Georgia. Des Moines, Iowa. 

Berkeley, California. Hampton, Virginia. 

Denver, Colorado. Kansas City, Missouri. 

39 



Kansas City, Kansas. Rockford, Illinois. 

Lincoln, Nebraska. Richmond, "Virginia. 

Minneapolis, Minnesota. Spokane, Washington. 

Muskogee, Oklahoma. Rochester, New York. 

Nashville, Tennessee. Topeka, Kansas. 

Omaha, Nebraska. Tuskegee Institute, Alabama. 

Portland, Oregon. Washington, District of Columbia. 

Providence, Rhode Island. Winona, Minnesota. 

A list of some of the "Junior High Schools", or "Intermediate Schools" 
that I found in my research work, besides those just mentioned are as follows: 
Boise, Idaho. Los Angeles, California. 

Dayton, Ohio. Madison, Wisconsin. 

Decatur, Illinois. Oakland, California. 

Duluth, Minnesota. Ogden, Utah. 

Evansville, Indiana. Pasadena, California. 

Grand Rapids, Michigan. Quincy, Illinois. 

Houston, Texas. Richmond, Indiana. 

Kalamazoo, Michigan. Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Kansas City, Kansas. Topeka, Kansas. 

There was apparently such a similarity in the answers to Questionnaire 
"A" that there is little need of a summary. The greatest defect was shown 
as regards Vocational Subject Matter, and the development of the sensibilities. 
From the course of study sent of the Berkeley, California, "Intermediate 
Schools" (Grade VII-VIII-IX) I find that these three years of English 
take two definite forms: Structural English, or Language Study (Grammar, 
Spelling and Composition); and Cultural English, or Reading and Literature. 
The grades are designated as Low Seventh, High Seventh, etc. 

Questionnaire "B" 

In order to learn whether Enghsh is well taught from the business point 
of view and how to remedy it, if not so taught, a form of questions called 
Questionnaire "B" was sent out to Commercial Clubs. This was done chiefly, 
because the Commercial Clubs recommend pupils for vocational work and there 
is a somewhat general complaint among business peoples as to the inability 
of pupils so recommended to use English accurately and fluently. The 
Questionnaire read as follows: 

Questionnaire *'B", 

L What is the Attitude of Employers of Commercial or Vocational 
Help towards English Language and Literature as to: 

1. Whether the pupils' inability to use the English language effectively 
in business is not a defect? 

2. Whether English wi 1 yield the boy or girl a social return? 

3. What a business man has a right to expect from a high school 
graduate with reference to English? 

40 



4. Whether English as given in the high school is inefficient? How 
remedy it? 

5. What constitutes good "Business English"? 

6. Whether both a vocationally trained child and a culturally trained 
one should have a minimum amount of vocational and cultural 
training in English Language and Literature? 

7. Whether the educational requirements for employment certificates 
of children should show that they have an average ability to read, 
write, and speak English? 

8. Additional Comments. 
The replies v/ere as follows: 

To question I, 1. There were various answers, five said, "Yes"; six, 
"Decidedly so"; all of the others considered it a very serious defect. 

To question I, 2. Seven repHed, "Yes"; others said, "It will"; while 
still others said, "Unquestionably so"; the rest replied as follows: "In an 
English speaking nation, what could be of greater advantage than to know 
one's own language"? "Mastery of English fundamentals, is the first and 
broadest vocational subject, and wages depend on this as directly as on any 
other vocational accomplishment". 

To question I, 3. Seven answered, "Ability to speak, write, and spell the 
English language correctly"; other replies were, "Correct response to em- 
ployer, and customer, and correct usage of English in correspondence"; "A 
high school graduate should be able to speak, write, and punctuate with 
facility. It is absolutely essential, for the successful selling or promoting of 
his own, or the other man's service or goods". 

To question I, 4. There was a great difference of opinions. The majority 
agreeing that it is inefficient, as many high school graduates are poor spellers, 
and know very little about how to construct a sentence correctly, or even 
paragraph correctly. As to the remedy, some of the replies were: "Too 
much attention paid to Literary English, without special emphasis, on Business 
English".; "Better equipped instructors at higher salaries"; "The solution 
is up to the University and the teacher". 

To question I, 5. The replies were as follows: Four referred to question 3. 
Others said, "Good Business English is not different from any other kind of 
good English"; "A good background in English grammar, literature and com- 
position, with proper emphasis on letter-writing, paragraphing, punctuation, 
and spelling are necessary"; "Good vocabulary, simplicity, directness, clear- 
ness". 

To question I, 6. The majority answered "Yes", and others said, "In 
both cases"; other replies were as follows: "Not a minimum, but a maximum 
amount of training in the English language"; "A vocationally trained child 
should have a maximum amount of vocational, and cultural training in Eng- 
lish literature"; "By all means, combination of the two, most valuable"; 
"Business men do not see the need for any great difference between the train- 
ing vocationally of children, and the culturally trained, for they think that 
all should have good command of the common tools of language including 
ability to write a clear, direct, simple business letter, and the habit of reading 

41 



general literature and appreciating it. It is just as good for the child voca- 
tionally trained, as the one culturally trained". 

To question I, 7. Nearly all replied "Yes"; "By all means". In 
addition to these one said, "A certificate should imply, that he has an average 
ability to read, write, and speak English correctly". 

To question I, 8. Additional Comments. — The few comments are as 
lollows: "I do not think the average business man, unless he has given special 
consideration to these questions, is qualified to pass an opinion, worthy of 
much consideration". — (St. Paul, Minnesota.) 

"The experience of nearly all mechanics is, that they were not taught 
enough mathematics, or the right kind. Then, they regret their inability to 
express themselves, either on paper, or in speech". — (Sioux City, Iowa.) 

"If the public high schools placed greater stress on a thorough training 
in English language and literature, it would prove of much greater benefit, 
at least to the student who enters the business world, than the study of Latin 
and Greek, or higher mathematics. Because a thorough training in English 
would pave the way for further development in later life and create a desire 
for learning, which too often terminates, when the student leaves school. 
The answers given to your questions are, of course, merely a matter of personal 
opinion, based upon observation of associates in the business world". — (Oak- 
land, California.) 

"Please send me a copy of your conclusions". — (Little Rock, Arkansas.) 

"More direction in practical teaching at the cost of (by elimination) some 
departmental instruction which is valueless (practically) to students in after 
life". — (Rockford, Illinois.) 

"Such changes must be made in our high curriculums that will give to 
the employer graduates that have at least the rudiments of reading, writing 
and to speak the English as it should be, with a heavy emphasis upon spelling, 
together with not so much a vocational training, as an ability to do things 
correctly and with an underlying mind foundation that permits them to 
grasp ordinary business principles". — (Sandusky, Ohio.) 

"As a former high school instructor, especially in 'Commercial Corre- 
spondence', I would say that the poor English students turned out from the 
high school are due not from a lack of facilities but from lack of teaching 
ability and method. It can be improved greatly. Actual work and less 
rules, especially rules that they will never apply in actual practice, would 
greatly help this movement for better English". — (Elgin, Illinois.) 

"This is my personal opinion, and of course can be greatly enlarged. 
I am answering these questions with the understanding that 'the boy or girl 
expects to enter a business office. English training is not so essential for 
the boy or girl who is to do manual labor". — ^(Denver, Colorado.) 

"I find that some merchants do not seem to take into consideration the 
ability of their clerks to speak and write English correctly. The reason for 
this can be easily explained. They never received such training themselves 
and are not progressive enough to serve the best trade. The merchants who 
are abreast of the times, progressive, and alert, are also anxious that their 
clerks make a good impression upon their trade and in order to do this they 

42 



realize that the clerk must be able to converse in good English". — -(Kearney, 
Nebraska. ) 

The letter from the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce I quote in full, 
as it seems very much to the point: 

"1. Business men regard inability to use the English language, together 
with inability to figure accurately, as the greatest single defect in our American 
education. 

2. Mastery of English fundamentals is the first and broadest vocational 
subject, and wages depend on this as directly as on any other vocational 
accomplishment. 

3 and 4. High school English partly remedies the defects of the grade 
schools in the mastery of the tools of language, and markedly increases the 
general intelligence. Many leading houses are trying to make it a rule to 
employ only high school graduates. Yet the high school graduate needs still 
serious training on the fundamentals of English. 

5. Good "Business English" first of all requires ability to spell near the 
100% point the list of words commonly used in letter writing, a habit of 
correctness (grammatical) in speaking and in writing letters, ability to punc- 
tuate intelligently, and power to write a letter in simple, direct, plain language, 
with a certain human quality that will win the customer. But business men 
feel these ought to be mastered by the end of the 8th grade, or in the first 
year in the high school, and students who go to the later years of the high 
school ought to have the broad intelligence that general cultural reading 
develops, and also some knowledge of the practical psychology of sales letter 
writing, advertising and personal salesmanship, with good training in talking 
well. 

6. Business men do not see the need for any great differentiation between 
the training of vocationally trained children and culturally trained, for they 
think that all should have good command of the "common tools of language", 
including ability to write a clear, direct, simple business letter, and the habit 
of reading general literature and appreciating it. It is just as good for the 
child vocationally trained as the one culturally trained. 

7. Business men have thought very little about certificates and the Hke, 
but would naturally be inclined to consider it an uncommonly good idea if 
school pupils might come to them with some evidence of standard command 
of English, or some measure of ability in which they would have confidence, 
such as an outside test. 

I would be very glad to learn the results of your study. 

Very truly yours, 

C. R. Bebble, 
Manager, Civic and Industrial Department". 
To these questions the following clubs replied: 
Association of Commerce: St. Paul, Minnesota. 
Chamber of Commerce: Roanoke, Virginia. 
Chamber of Commerce: Rockford, Illinois. 
Chamber of Commerce: Council Bluffs, Iowa. 

43 



Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce: Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Columbia Chamber of Commerce: Columbia, South Carolina. 

Commercial Club: Elgin, IlHnois. 

Commercial Club: Sioux City, Iowa. 

Commercial Club: Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Commercial Club: Fargo, North Dakota. 

Denver Civic and Commercial Association: Denver, Colorado. 

Hannibal Commercial Club: Hannibal, Missouri. 

Jackson Chamber of Commerce: Jackson, Michigan. 

Kearney Commercial Club: Kearney, Nebraska. 

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce: Los Angeles, California. 

Oakland Chamber of Commerce: Oakland, California. 

Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Sandusky Federated Commercial Club: Sandusky, Ohio. 

Seattle Chamber of Commerce: Seattle, Washington. 

Washington Chamber of Commerce: Washington, District of Columbia. 

A summary of Questionnaire "B" may be stated as follows: 
Questionnaire "B" reveals conditions with regard to Business English 
that calls for immediate reform for these reasons: 

The pupil's inability to use the Enghsh language effectively in business is 
considered a very serious defect because the proper use of English will yield 
him an economic and a social return. A high school pupil should be able to 
speak and write correctly and with facility. It is essential for the successful 
selling or promoting of his own or the other man's service or goods. He should 
possess a vocabulary which enables him to express his thoughts forcefully 
and efficiently. The English as given in the high school is extremely inefficient. 
Some of the causes given for this are the need of: 

"Better and more specific text-books; better equipped instructors at higher salary; a lack 
of appreciation on the part of the pupil of the necessity of such training, and last but not least 
the '-'fault lies with ichat is taught or the method of teaching for the results are not happy". 

Good "Business" English should enable a pupil to express himself in 
such a way that he may be understood where various shades of meaning might 
place a different phase upon the different business transactions. A voca- 
tionally trained pupil and a culturally trained one should have a minimum 
amount of vocational and cultural training in English Language and Literature, 
as a combination of the two are very valuable in order to make him a well 
developed person. He should have the ability to read, write and speak 
English efficiently before he secures an employment certificate, for in an 
English speaking nation, what is of greater worth than to know one's own 
language? 

In the Outline for Vocational Guidance through English Composition 
some of the themes mentioned were: Vocational Ethics; Social Ethics; and 
Civic Ethics. These grade themes were for the high school pupils. As there 

44 



is a close relation, in many respects, between what we may call "High School 
Ethics" and "College Ethics", I cite the following on "College Ethics": 

"A refreshing series of ethical waves have recently swept over our country, resulting in a 
purging of the commercial, political and social atmosphere, creating a new type of moral sense; 
the wording of this theme suggests, however, that the crusade against existing evils has penetrated 
less deeply into collegiate circles than into the arena of the business world. The phrase 'college 
ethics', seems to imply that the man so fortunate as to be registered in a college, may be governed 
by ethical law unlike that outside the classic halls of learning, that the Golden Rule does not 
apply to the gownsmen in the same way as to the townsmen. * * * A teacher's power is infinitely 
more in what he is, than what he teaches. 'How can I hear what you say', said Emerson, 'when 
what you are is continually thundering in my ears? ' It is this contact of student Ufe with that 
of the faculty that counts for more than all else in the morals of our institutions. Really the 
strongest lessons that we teach are the lessons we do not teach, but those that emanate from our 
personality. * * * History is replete with examples of such teachers, among them Thomas Arnold 
of Rugby stands pre-eminently; the secret of Arnold's marvelous power lay not in his superior 
academic training, but in the fact that his heart throbbed with greatness and goodness which 
reached out and touched and moulded the lives of his boys, whose sports and studies he shared. 
Mary Lyon of Mount Holyoke, by her consistent life, ever held before her young women the 
ideals of a fine, noble womanhood; so completely were these ideals ingrained in the lives of these 
students that they reflected them everywhere they went in after life. It is this subtle influence 
of heart upon heart, and soul upon soul that counts for ethics in the college halls, without which 
all formal instruction is worthless. Such has been the influence of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, 
Aquinas, Erasmus, Savonarola, Pestalozzi, Arnold, Mary Lyon and a galaxy of others who have 
lived and taught down through the ages. With such teachers, the ethical life of our colleges 
will revive and send out such a moral force as will eliminate the evils of the commercial, political 
and social world against which legislation is now directed". (13) 

I. What Some Practical Workers say about English. 

1. The teachers of the Horace Mann School write as follows: 

"The study of English naturally occupies an important place in the school program — ^Regard- 
ing it as the most efficient means of culture at our command, we make it the 'core', as Dr. Nicholas 
Murray Butler styles it, of our curriculum, devoting more time to it than to any other subject, 
and considering it the chief standard for measuring the progress and ability of our pupils. 

Our aim is the obvious one — to train the children to use their mother-tongue more effectively 
in speaking and writing, and to gain some knowledge and appreciation of its literature. In school- 
room practice the subject groups itself as follows: 

1. Reading and Literature. ^ 

2. Composition. 

3. Language Work and Grammar". (41) 

2. Hall in Adolescence and Literature says: 

"I am persuaded that Quintillian was right when he declared that the simple reading of 
great works, such as national epics 'will contribute more to the unfolding of students than all 
the treatises of all the rhetoricians that ever wrote.' At the dawn of adolescence I am convinced 
that there is nothing more wholesome for the material of Enghsh study than that of the early 
mythic period in Western Europe. I refer to the literature of the Arthuriad and the Sangrail, 
the stories of Parsifal, Tristram, Isolde, Galahad, Gawain, Geraint, Siegfried, Brunhilde, Roland, 
the Cid, Orlando, Lancelot, Tannhauser, Beowulf, Lohengrin, Robin Hood, and Rolando. This 
material is more or less closely connected in itself, although falling into large groups. Much of it 
bottoms on the Nibelungen and is connected with the old Teutonic mythology running back to 
the gods of Asgard. We have here a vast body of ethical material, characters that are almost 
colossal in their proportions, incidents thrilling and dramatic to a degree that stirs the blood and 
thrills the nerves. It is a quarry where Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spencer, Scott, Tennyson, Ibsen, 
and scores of artists in various lines have found subject-matter. The value of this material 
makes it almost Biblical for the early and middle teens, and is increased, from whatever point 



(13) Fordyce, pp. 71-79. 

(41) Teacher's College Record, p. 143. 



45 



of view we scrutinize it, for this purpose. In a sense, it is a kind of New Testament of classical 
myths. * * * Morals and ethics, which are never so inseparable as at this period, are here found 
in normal union. * * * 

This material educates ths heart at an age when sentiment is predominant. * * * Hero worship 
is developed by a role of noble deeds, a castle album of portraits of heroes, the reading together 
of heroic books, the offering of ranks in the peerage, and the sacred honor of the perilous for ath- 
letic, scholarly, or self-sacrificing attainments. 

Some would measure the progress of culture by the work of reinterpreting on even higher 
planes the mystic tradition of a race, and how this is done for youth is a good criterion of pedagogic 
progress. 

This spirit is organized in and its fitness shown in the growth and success of the Knights of 
King Arthur, an unique order of Christian knighthood for boys,' based upon the romantic hero- 
loving, play-constructing, and imaginative instincts which ripen at about fourteen. Its purpose 
is to bring back to the world, and especially to its youth, the spirit of chivalry, courtesy, deference 
to womanhood, recognition of the noblesse oblige and Christian daring of that kingdom of knight- 
liness which King Arthur promised that he would bring back when he returned from Avalon, 
'In this order he appears again.' It is found in the model of a college Greek letter fraternity, 
with satisfaction for the love of ritual, mystery, and parade." 

And again he says: 

"By general consent, both high school and college youth in this country are in an advanced 
stage of degeneration in the command of this the world's greatest organ of the intellect, and that 
despite the fact that the study of English often continues from primary into college grades, that 
no topic counts for more, and that marked deficiencies here often debars from all other courses. 
Every careful study of the subject for nearly twenty years shows deterioration, and Professor 
Shurman, of Nebraska, thinks it now worse than at any time for forty years. 

Such a comprehensive fact must have many causes: 

I. Cue of these is the excessive time given to other languages just at the psychological 
period of greatest linguistic plasticity and capacity for growth. 

II. The second cause of this degeneration is the subordination of literature and content 
to language study. Grammar arises in the old age of language. 

III. It is hard and, in the history of the race, a late change to receive language through the 
eye which reads instead of through the ear which hears. 

IV. The fourth cause of degeneration of school English is the growing preponderance of 
concrete words for designating things of sense and physical acts, over the higher element of 
language that names and deals with concepts, ideas, and non-material things. 

The first result of this is that the modern school child is more and more mentally helpless 
without objects of sense." (17) 

3. Margaret Sherwood, assistant Professor of English Literature in 
Wellesley College, Massachusetts, since 1912, writes that: 

"The great meanings of literature should be taught, not dogmatically, but with reverent 
effort to interpret, to become aware of many kinds of insight into the mysteries of existence, to 
let life grow great in finding how different thinkers, searchers for the light, struggled, won, or 
failed. That large reading of human life and experience that shows us growth achieved, perhaps, 
through failure, doubt, despair, must be ours. While we may not always share the conclusion, 
we are wiser for sharing the struggle; the aspirations of many an one with whose convictions 
we should not agree may prove the truest stimulus; all is safe so long as the great issues of life 
are conceived as spiritual issues. * * * 

It is frankly for its civilizing power that we need this study, not for remote questions of 
scholarship involving intellectual gymnastics. The highest type of literature, the most imag- 
inative, the most idealistic, should be brought to bear upon life; the young should know their 
Carlyle and their Ruskin, their Browning and their Keats, their Shakespeare, Bishop Berkeley 
and Sir Thomas Browne, as they now know brake and lever, pulley and piston, and the wriggling 
of the amoeba under the microscope. They should be taught that: ' 'A good book is the precious 



'(Described in the Boy Probleni, by its founder, William B. Forbush. Chicago, 1901, p. 91.) 
(17) Hall, pp. 442, 445, 456. 

46 



life-blood o'f a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a lite beyond life.' * * * We 
need to teach the message, the supreme importance of literature as soul revelation, with less of the 
outer covering, more of the divine intent, that the young may be made to feel the impact of the 
intellectual and spiritual past experience of the race as expressed in terms of beauty." (37) 

4. Aristotle says of: 

"The Origin and DevelopmeiU of Poetri/, Psychologically, Poetry may be traced to two 
causes, the instinct of Imitation, and the instinct of 'Harmony' and Rh^-thm. 

Historically viewed, Poetry diverged early in two directions: traces of this twofold tendency 
are found in the Homeric poems: Tragedy and Comedy exhibit the distinction in a developed 
form. 

Poetry in general seems to have sprung from two causes, each of them lying deep in our 
nature. First, the instinct of imitation is implanted in man from childhood, one difference 
between him and other animals being that he is the most imitative of li\'ing creatures; and 
through imitation he learns his earliest lessons; and no less universal is the pleasure felt in things 
imitated. * * * 

Imitation, then, is one instinct of our nature. Next, there is the instinct for 'harmony' 
and rhythm, metres being manifestly sections of rhythm. Persons, therefore, starting with this 
natural gift developed by degrees their special aptitude, till their rude improvisations gave birth 
to Poetry." (1) 

5. James F. Hosic, Head of Department of English, Chicago Teachers 
College, informs us that: 

"An outline of English to guide the teachers of a school is, in a sense, a necessary evil * * *. 
But English as a subject of study does not lend itself readily or happily to definite outlining. ** * 
The word English has come to signify a group of studies called language, composition, word study, 
reading, literature, grammar, and even penmanship. For clearness it is worth while to observe 
that only four distinct but related activities are involved: hearing, speaking, reading, and writing 
English. The essential purpose of these studies, moreover, is only twofold: to become able to 
express yourself and to understand others". (19) 

6. The Joint Committee informs us that: 

1. "Training in composition is of equal importance with the study of literature, and should 
have an equal allowance of time. Composition work should find place in every year of the school 
course. 

2. Subjects for compositions should be drawn from the pupil's life and experience. To base 
theme work mainly upon literature studies leads pupils to think of composition as a purely academic 
exercise, bearing little relation to life. 

3. Oral work should be conducted in intimate relations with written work, and ordinarily 
the best results will follow when both are taught by the same teacher. 

4. Theory and practice should go hand in hand. The principles of grammar and rhetoric 
should be taught at the time and to the extent that they are aids to expression. 

5. If examinations are given, they should be framed as to be a test of power rather than of 
memory. 

The general purpose of teaching oral expression in the schools is to make possible in the 
lives of the people an accurate, forceful living speech which shall be adequate for ordinary inter- 
course and capable of expressing the thoughts and emotions of men and women in other relations 
of life. Recognizing the fact that the impulses to converse, to sing, to narrate, to picture, and 
to portray (mimic and dramatize) are racial traits of long standing, and that the ability to be 
effective and interesting in these forms of expression is of enduring social importance, it becomes 
the task of the teacher to provide incentive and occasion for the normal exercise of these impulses, 
and to free the channels of expression by establishing right habits of thought and by developing 
the organs of speech. It is likewise natural for men to enjoy in others excellence and skill in 
speech and portrayal, and the cultivation of the auditory taste and the dramatic sense enhances 



(37) Sherwood, pp. 888, 88! 
(1) Aristotle, pp. 1, 15, 17. 
(19) Hosic, pp. 4-7. 



47 



the enjoyment of these forms of art. Such enjoyment it is the privilege and function of the school 
to promote. 

The essential object of the literature work of the 7th, 8th, and 9th years is so to appeal to 
the developing sensibilities of early adolescence as to lead to eager and appreciative reading of 
books of as high an order as is possible for the given individual, to the end of both present and 
future development of his moral, emotional, aesthetic, and mental nature. To this general purpose, 
stated somewhat more in detail in the first three paragraphs below, all other purposes must be 
secondary". (33) 

7. Percival Chubb in "Teaching of English" quotes Sainte-Beuve as 
follows: 

"I hold very little to literary opinions. Literary opinions occupy very little place in my life 
and thoughts. What does occupy me seriously is life itself and the object of it. Chubb further 
says: This is cited by a disciple, Matthew Arnold.who takes the same attitude holding that poetry. 
Literature generally, is to be appraised according to its soundness as a criticism of life. And these 
two men are above suspicion on literary grounds; both had an exquisite sense of the beauty of 
literary art and of the excellences of style. Let us too, then use Literature in this spirit to aid 
our young men and women to interpret life, to see life, to respond to the spectacle and drama 
of life. * * * 

In prescribing the literature that is to be read during the High School period, we must allow 
several factors to count. These may be ranged under two main divisions: first, the characteristics, 
the needs, and the interests of the adolescent period; and secondly, the vocational and social 
demands made upon High School education. The two requirements must be kept in mind: 
General culture, or education for a typical, ideal manhood and womanhood; and preparation to 
meet the actual demands of life and a specific kind of social environment. Education cannot 
simply be for power and for general culture; it must likewise be a novitiate for life, and must clear 
an opening into the vocations. The very important facts must be faced that the overwhelming 
majority of High School graduates conclude their academic education when they graduate; and 
yet that large numbers pass from the High School into the professional and technical schools, 
omitting college training. Most of them go forth into the shops of the world to labor severally 
according to gifts and opportunities; some into a technical institute to serve as an apprentice- 
chip in a selected calling; others, into college The High School should, therefore, enable them 
to discover their gifts, and should have emphasized their cultivation with an outlook toward 
the vocation for which they fit. The public expects as much; and from the American point of 
view, rightly so. A vast amount of time is being wasted in collegiate education upon unpropitious 
material that needs other methods of treatment. 

The High School course in English, therefore, must be framed to subserve this double prepara- 
tion: it must aid in the preparation for social and personal life, — that is, for manhood and woman- 
hood and citizenship; it must also aid in the choice of, and advance toward, a vocation. In- 
cidentally it must dovetail into the higher institutions of learning and craftsmanship, academic 
and professional. Incidentally, we say, because these institutions have no peculiar demands to 
make on the High School other than those which these schools should make for themselves, — 
namely, that the work they undertake to do shall be well done. Of these two general purposes, 
that of general culture must be the controlling one. We have many types of character to keep 
in mind and to develop. All we can do is to allow free play of these considerations upon the 
problem of selection." (8) 

8. Hampton Institute, Virginia, in its Academic-Normal Courses in 
English uses the following: 

"The aim of the English course is to develop in pupils the ability to use the mother tongue 
in both oral and written speech with clearness, correctness, and facility. To secure this end, a 
progressive line of reading, oral and written composition, and grammar is carried on throughout 
the course. 

During the first year, the work consists of reproduction exercises, letter writing, and short 
oral and written compositions based on personal experiences, the work of other lessons, the trades, 
the occupations, and the activities of school life. 



(33) Joint Committee. (Report being printed.) 
(8) Chubb, pp. 237-241. 

48 



The technical grammar in this year includes a detailed study of all the parts of speech. 
Common errors receive special attention. 

The work of the second year completes the study of technical grammar, and here again 
the emphasis is laid on the practical side of grammar; but composition — with special attention 
to oral composition on trade subjects, the writing of both friendly and business letters, and long 
and short themes on interesting subjects — is still the core of the work. 

The third year continues the effort to apply the rules of grammar to the problems of the 
student's own language. Oral expression has a good share of the time, and argumentation is 
emphasized by having frequent class debates. The written composition illustrates as far as 
possible, the three forms of writing — exposition, narration, and description. 

In the fourth year rhetoric is planned to give the mature subject more of the theory of the 
English language, more practice in its use as governed by good style, and a wider acquaintance 
with the best authors. One period a week will be given to a study of etymology. 

The work in oral composition is made as practical and personal as possible throughout the 
course. The Trade School and Agricultural Department furnish lists of subjects suggested by 
their work, and these give an endless variety of topics for short oral expositions. 

The reading is carefully planned. Not only does the student purchase one book for reading 
each year — the nucleus of his future library — but he also has access to a great many other volumes. 
Some of these latter are read in their entirety in class; others are read in part and the pupil has 
an opportunity of finishing them out of school hours. 

The first-year list includes: Around the World in the Sloop Spray, Dicken's Christmas 
Carol, Heroic Ballads, Hyde's Speaker, Lincoln's Speeches, Man Without a Country, Moore's 
Life of Columbus and Life of Lincoln, The Story of the Chosen People, Scudder's Washington, 
Snow Bound, Two Years Before the Mast, Birds and Bees, Dole's American Citizen, England's 
Story, Miles Standish, The Last of the Mohicans, Hero Stories, Scottish Chiefs, The Ship of State, 
The Sketch Book, Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, Seawell's Twelve Naval Captains, The Great 
Stone Face, etc. 

The second-year list: Braddock's Defeat, A Bunch of Herbs, The Cable Book, David 
Copperfield, The Life of Frederick Douglas. The Future of the American Negro, Grandfather's 
Chair, Hiawatha's Hunting of the Bear, Ivanhoe, The Lanier Book, A Message to Garcia, Mun- 
ger's on the Threshold, The Page Book, The Roosevelt Book, Self-Culture, Stories of the Old 
Dominion, Tales of a Wayside Inn, Paul Revere's Ride and Other Poems, Twice-Told Tales, The 
Spy, Franklin's Autobiography, Holmes's Poems, Peasant and Prince, Plutarch's Lives, Tales of 
the White Hills, Westward Ho!, The Van Dyke Book, etc. 

The third-year list: Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Southey's Life of Nelson, The Merchant of 
Venice, King Lear, A Tale of Two Cities, Tales of a Grandfather, The Talisman, Quentin Durward, 
Self-Cultivation in English, Silas Marner, Southern Prose and Poetry, The Toilers of the Sea, 
Burke's Conciliation, The Cambridge Book of Poetry, British Authors, Bacon's Essays, Selections 
from Tennyson, Carlyle's Essay on Burns, etc. 

The literature used in the fourth year illustrates the principles of rhetoric. The Huntington 
Memorial Library is well supplied with standard literature, which is available for use in academic 



The memorizing of certain selections is required in every year; and every student owns a 
book of quotations compiled by the department. Students are also furnished with a book list 
for use in the selection of general reading. Every effort is made, through the use of material 
suited to the student's capacity, to interest him in reading and to develop a taste for good books." 

II. Some of the various views held as to Vocational Guidance and 
Vocational Education in the Secondary Schools. 

1. E. P. Cubberly, of Leland Stanford Junior University, informs us as 
follows: 

"Starting originally as an outgrowth of and a slight variation from the Old Latin school 
and the academy, with a limited curriculum, and with its right to existence questioned in the 
courts in almost every state north of the Ohio and Potomac and east of the Mississippi, the public 
high school has gradually been accepted by our people and has been established as one of the 
most important institutions of our democratic society. Unlike the European secondary school, 

49 



our secondary public-school system is one 'of the people and for the people', and the best interests 
of our democratic life demand that we always keep it so. * * * 

The past sixteen years have witnessed great changes and very significant changes in every 
feature of our national life. We live in a new world, and the need for new and larger knowledge 
to aid us in understanding and coping with the new conditions are very apparent. 'The develop- 
ment of secondary schools since 1890, and particularly since 1900 has every where been remark- 
able'. * * * The secondary school, if it is to realize its highest educational purpose, should pre- 
eminently be a place for the testing of capacity, the development of tastes, and the opening up 
of vocational opportunities of many kinds. * * * Let me interpret both vocational and liberal 
culture in a rather broad and liberal way. What constitutes vocational education has been 
defined differently by different men. Some would restrict the meaning of the term to industrial 
training only, but as I conceive vocational education the term should mean something much 
broader. 

The whole question of what liberal and what vocational studies are can be defined only in 
terms of individuals. What is vocational for one is liberal for another. The study of chemistry, 
for example, which is usually classified with the technical — ^vocational group, and is so for the 
future chemist or engineer, is broadly liberal when pursued by the classical student. The same 
is true of geology, biology, economic or modem industrial history. Conversely, courses as litera- 
ture, wortd history, economics, and the life and literature of Greece and Rome would be liberal 
studies to the technical or the scientific student. 

That the present trend toward vocational education — technical, commercial, agricultural, 
domestic, and even vocational in the narrower sense — will undoubtedly face a more general 
acceptance of new definitions of what constitutes liberal culture can hardly be doubted, but that it 
will do aught to decrease the number, either actual or proportional, of persons possessed of a 
good sound education may well be doubted". (9) 

2. G. W. Gayler, Superintendent of Schools, Canton, Illinois, as to 
Vocational Guidance says: 

"Four years ago one hundred and fifty-nine eighth grade pupils in our schools were asked 
among other things to give their choice of a life work. In classifying and summarizing the answers 
we found there were thirty-seven different occupations mentioned. * * * 

This study, extending over a period of four years and as yet incomplete, seems to point to 
several conclusions. First, a large percentage of adolescent boys and girls do not definitely decide 
upon their life work until late in the high school couise, perhaps often not until the course is 
completed. Secondly, a large percentage of these students vacillate, now choosing one thing 
and now another, influenced often by the most interesting thing at the time the choice is made, 
perhaps influenced by the personality of a popular teacher, or by the subject of study with which 
the mind is filled at that particular time. Thirdly, there is a greater school life expectancy for 
those who remain constant in choice than for those who change. * * * 

I am fully convinced from the study I have made that the kind of guidance we need in our 
schools today is that which will lead the boys and girls into higher grades of school work and the 
advice they need most is that which will cause them to remain longer in school. * * * 

The pupils should be encouraged to create, cherish, and foster ideals. No one thing has 
more effect on the future life of the children than this. The teacher, like Agnes in David Copper- 
field, should always be pointing the way upward. This is the best thing the teacher can do. 
In my own life nothing has helped guide me so much as the ideals formed by contrast with men 
whom I admired, and by reading biographies of great men. Ideals presented in great selections 
of literature have inspiration for the student if properly presented by the teacher. Talks by the 
teacher, principal or superintendent on the value of education, financial and cultural, given to the 
school as a whole, or to individuals, discussions concerning different vocations and opportunities 
will help pupils to understand the value of the school to them, and the aid which it attempts to 
give each student. Finally, the question of vocational guidance in so far as the high school ought 
to deal with it, is concerned with the abridgement and enrichment of the course of study. The 
course of study must be vitalized. It must touch life at more points. It must appear worth 
while to boys and girls. Vocational guidance has to do with every subject of study and every 



(9) Cubberly, pp. 454-465. 

50 



recitation. It is not a new subject to be brought into the course. It must be handled not by a 
new teacher added to the corps. It should vitalize every subject and every lesson. * * * 

Vocational guidance has to do with the kind of work offered in the school, with the way work 
is done in schools, with the inspiration breathed by the teacher into her class, with the advice 
which she gives when the boy comes to her with his problems. Every teacher should be a 
counsellor. Every teacher must be interested in boys and girls, far more in these than in Latin, 
or history or science or literature alone or any subject whatever. * * * 

In conclusion let me say then, that there is a place in high school for vocational guidance. 
We ought to have more of it, but it should come in largely through the regular work and in many 
places, rather than in one place through one teacher teaching a particular subject. Every subject, 
every lesson has in it great possibilities. Every teacher is and must be a counsellor and guide of 
youth". (16) 

3. Frederick G. Bonser of Columbia University says that: 

"Courts even interpret constitutions as placing property rights above human rights. Seven 
of our states exempt children entirely from most of the restrictions on child labor in the canning 
industries on the ground that these industries deal with perishable materials — thus setting a 
higher value on sweet corn, tomatoes and beans than upon child life and its rights to natural 
growth! 

Ten states permit children under fourteen to work in factories and workshops. Eight states 
still let boys of twelve work in mines. Thirty-five states do not have the protection of the eight 
hour day for their working children. Although given expression over half a century ago in 
England, Mrs. Browning's 'Cry of the Children' is charged with as much meaning and need for 
response in America today, many children — 

'* * * are weeping in the playtime of the others. 
In the country of the free * * * 

They know the grief of man without its wisdom; 
They sink in man's despair without its calm; 
Are slaves without the liberty of Christdom; 
Are martyrs by the pang without the palm.' 

And to those who know details of shop life, and of the home life in the thirteen thousand 
tenement houses in New York City licensed for the making and finishing of clothing where the 
labor of all the members of the family can be utilized without reference to age or factory law, 
Thomas Hood's 'Song of the Shirt' chants a message as true for us to-day as it was a century 
ago in the land across the sea. Women, men, and children as well, here: 

'* * * Stitch-stitch-stitch, 
In poverty, hunger and dirt. 
Sewing at once with a double thread, 
A shroud as well as a shirt.' 



In seeking for this common denominator of experience in establishing common ideals, I 
submit that the same great appeals made to men and women of culture by the best products of 
man's creative genius are universal. The same masterpieces of literature, art, and music which 
stimulate appreciation, aspiration, and deeds of service among men and women who practice 
law, medicine and theology appeal just as strongly to men and women who practice in wood- 
work, metals, or textiles when these masterpieces are presented to them aright. When dramas 
or concerts of a high order are offered in the New Theatre, or the Metropolitan Opera House, or 
in the parks especially to the people of industrial and commercial vocations, our newspaper editors 
manifest surprise that these people are so appreciative, and so uplifted. It would only be sur- 
prising if they were not. The distribution of human nature in its fundamental elements is 
democratic. 



(16) Gayler, pp. 161-166. 

51 



Securing a point of contact for the working man with the products of genius other than 
that which is mechanical seems to be one of the great difficulties. This difficulty certainly lies 
partly in the deplorably low and insufficient ideals and methods in the selecting and teaching of 
masterpieces in literature, art, music, and history in the public schools. The narrowness in 
selection and the academic method of instruction both contribute to the sad fact that these sub- 
jects often fail entirely to awaken any appreciative response in the boys and girls to whom they 
are taught. The literature, art, and music do not all need to be about industrial activities to 
reach the life interests of the individual workers. They too have the problems and fears and hopes 
that find comfort in the expressions of the best thoughts and feelings of the master poets, artists, 
and musicians. Man must have an anchorage in something of permanent worth to which he 
may relate the efforts of his daily life. 'Man's reach should exceed his grasp', said Browning's 
Del Sarto. It is perspective, character, idealism, appreciation of higher possibilities that all 
men need to make them rise to realization of their fullest capacities. 'The hand can never 
execute anything higher than the character can inspire,' said Emerson. 

Our workingman's character is our concern quite as much as the cunning of his hand. To 
develop this attitude of mind that will give the man an appreciation of the meaning and sig- 
nificance of his work is the problem. That great and unrealized possibilities lie in the appeals 
of the literary masterpieces which might be appropriately used in schools, an examination of 
available material will certainly reveal. Points of contact almost direct with the craftsman's 
work are found in the best contributions of the great masters. Go with George Eliot into the 
shop of one Antonio Stradivarius, a maker of violins, and hear his words to his profligate artist 
friend: 

'Who draws a line and satisfies his soul. 

Making it crooked where it should be straight? 

* * * God be praised, 

Antonio Stradivarius has an eye 

That winces at false work and loves the true * * * 
'Tis God gives skill, 

But not without man's hands. He could not make 

Antonio Stradivarius' violins 

Without Antonio.' 

This conception of the workingman's co-operation with God in the progressive creation of 
the social world lifts the craftsman from the plane of artisanship to that of art, no matter what the 
work may be. Emerson identifies man with the Creator in his resolution of man's world to his 
needs in these lines: 

'The hand that rounded Peter's dome. 

And groined the aisles of Christian Rome 

Wrought in a sad sincerity; 

■Himself from God he could not free; 

He builded better than he knew; — 

The conscious stone to beauty grew.' 

Shakespeare, Browning, Tennyson, Kipling, Carlyle, George Eliot, Dickens, Victor Hugo, 
Emerson and many others whose perspective of social relationship was broad and deep, have 
given us much that has peculiar fitness for the man whose vocational contribution is made by 
the united cunning of brain and hand. 

Would not the acquaintance of the boy and girl with such master appeals from literature 
showing that there are points of common interest with their everyday work lead them to set a 
new value upon literary treasures? It is not his work in itself that is so destructive to the spiritual 
life of the industrial worker. It is rather that he has so little else in his life. In Shop, Browning 
utters a protest against the narrowness of life which is so characteristic of our day: 

'Because a man has shop to mind 
In time and place, since flesh must live. 
Needs spirit lack all life behind. 
All stray thoughts, fancies fugitive, 
All loves except what trade can give? ' 

52 



One of the great purposes of any worthy education is Jo teach men and women how to use 
their time of leisure so that it is an uplift to them rather than a stumbling block. They must be 
taught to look up for their pleasures and not down. If history, literature, art, and music are to 
reach out through life and enrich its leisure as well as to dignify and ennoble its work, the interest 
in these and the appreciation of their possibilities must be cultivated in the schools." (6) 

G. Stanley Hall says: 

"The last decade has witnessed a remarkable new movement on the part of colleges to 
influence high schools, which began with the Report of the Committee of Ten, printed in 1893. 
We have also had Reports of the Committee of Seven, Nine, Twelve, Fourteen, Fifteen, besides 
that of the National Education Association in 1896 on entrance requirements which invoked the 
aid of the American Historical and Philological Associations. In general these influences have 
worked from above downward, the dominating influence and the initiative in most eases coming 
from colleges or universities. That this movement did good for a time no one can deny. It 
has made many junctures between secondary and higher education; greatly increased the interest 
of facilities in high schools; given the former fruitful pedagogic themes for their own discussions; 
brought about a more friendly feeling and better mutual acquaintance; given slow colleges a 
wholesome stimulus; made school coursas richer, given them better logical sequence; detected 
many weak points; closed gaps; defined standards qf what education means; brought gfeat 
advantages from uniformity and co-operation, and no doubt, on the whole, has improved the 
conditions of college entrance examinations and aided in continuity." (17) 

While this movement seems to have made a satisfactory juncture between 
the secondary and the higher education, it has not done much if anything 
for the articulation between elementary schools ending with Grade VI and the 
now so-called junior high schools, or intermediate schools (Grades VII, VIII, 
IX). This is now what we are striving for, i. e., a closer and better articulation 
between the pre-adolescent period and the adolescent one for the great in- 
dividual differences in pupils are then quite marked. We may define ele- 
mentary education as the pre-adolescent stage and secondary education as the 
adolescent stage. 

Again Hall says: 

"Psychic adolescence is heralded by all-sided mobilization. The child from 9 to 12 is well 
adjusted to his environment and proportionally developed; he represents probably an old and 
relatively perfected stage race-maturity, still in some sense and degree feasible in warm climates, 
which, as we have previously urged, stands for a long-continued one, a terminal stage of human 
development at some post-simian point. * •'= * 

The ethical life is immensely broadened and deepened, the flood gates of heredity are thrown 
open again as in infancy. Early adolescence in some respects is the infancy of man's higher nature. 
The boy or girl moves about in both an inner and an outer world. * * * 

The 'teens' are emotionally unstable and pathetic." (17) 

Shall we not then strive to furnish noble literature and good environ- 
ments for both the vocationally trained and the liberally trained pupil so as 
to help him to live a worthy life, especially, in this early adolescent stage, 
which seems to be the foundation, so to speak, of one's higher nature? 

General Summary: These reports on existing conditions as to English 
Language and Literature cover a very wide range. The condition of English 
Language and Literature needs to be improved. The results obtained, show 
some improvement, yet a sad need is felt for better trained teachers, better 



(6) Bonser, pp. 43-47. 
(17) Hall, pp. 508, 71- 



53 



environments and better organized work along the lines of English. A 
variety of ends may be subserved by English study, but subsidiary interests 
should never be allowed to encroach upon the main purposes of it, that is, 
such as: To enable the pupil to give expression to thoughts of his own and 
to understand the expressed thoughts of others; to cultivate in the pupil a 
taste for reading; to give the pupil some acquaintance with good literature 
and furnish him the means of coming in touch with this literature. In other 
words, the objects to be gained by the study of English are, primarily, these: 
TTie power to use it effectively in reading, in literature, in speaking, and in 
writing; and a more complete command of our own language. In every 
school library there should be a. collection of books of references, supplementary 
readers, bulletins, etc. If English is well studied it makes for accuracy: 
(1) of observation in seeing just what is printed and in hearing just what is 
said; (2) of speech in producing careful pronunciation, and a workable 
vocabulary by selecting the exact word for the thought. We should have, as 
a rule, less technical grammar and that should be applied in such a way as 
not to seem stale to the pupil; more Vocational Literature should be used 
in our English Courses and there should be a reorganization of our Secondary 
School System and, last but not least, better trained teachers. 



54 



Part III. 
THE PROBLEM 



THE PROBLEM. 

All phases of Correlating Vocational Education and Liberal Education 
through English Language and Literature are not to be considered in this 
thesis. Only two phases will be considered: (1) As to subject matter, or 
material of Vocational Literature and General Literature, as given in the 
Course of Study for English, and (2) As to the method, or process of correlating 
these two kinds of Literature which are of the Vocational type and of the 
Liberal type of Education. 

The Correlation of Vocational Education and Liberal Education through 
English Language and Literature may be accomplished, partially, through the 
study material, the reading material, and the oral and written composition. 
By the last is meant the theme work as outlined, or suggested in the Course 
of English Study in this thesis. This material, however, must be so used, as 
to increase the cognitive activities, the affective activities, and the conative 
activities of the pupil's mind. 

Sensibility in a psychological sense includes both the sensory activities 
and the affective activities of the world of experience. Sensibility in a literary 
sense includes, primarily, the affective activities and only secondarily the 
sensory activities. As tools to earn a living, we, as a rule, discard the affective 
activities of life. But the affective activities which form the literary conscious- 
ness must be developed. 

Vocational Education does not develop, primarily, the cultural forces of 
the pupil's mind, but it does increase, mainly, the vocational information and 
does promote, mainly, the capacity to earn a living. 

Liberal Education does not promote, primarily, the pupil's capacity to 
earn a living and does not increase, primarily, the pupil's vocational information, 
but it does develop, mainly, the cultural forces of the pupil's mind. 

The Academic, or Liberal course (as defined in this thesis) cannot help 
the pupil to his full power in the business world. The Vocational course, which 
is being gradually introduced into our schools cannot help the pupil to his 
full value in cultural service. There must be a correlation of the two courses, 
especially in EngHsh, in order that the pupil may have a well-balanced educa- 
tion. While the Liberal, or Cultural course may have more value for the 
teacher, or the literary person, it is also essential to the vocationally trained 
pupil in order that he may live more completely. 

The problem in correlating vocational education and liberal education 
through English Language and Literature is to give culture as well as knowl- 
edge, or information to the vocationally trained pupil and knowledge, or 
information as well as culture to the liberally trained one. How can this be 
done? It must be accomplished, in order to be the most effective, both by 
general organization and by methods of teaching. 

It seems from investigations already reported, that the public school 
system should be reorganized into the following divisions: Kindergartens, 
elementary schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools. The Inter- 

57 



mediate School as now found in some systems is the same as the Junior High 
School, merely an interchange of terms. The Course of Study in English as 
suggested in this thesis is outlined, primarily, for the six-three-three plan, or 
for the junior high school and for the senior high school. It can be modified, 
however, to suit local conditions. 

Broadly speaking, the junior high school is a high school lowered to the 
seventh grade, with due regard for the rather limited experiences and training 
of pupils of twelve or thirteen' years. The junior high school should not 
receive pupils until they have completed the elementary work of the six grades. 
This elementary scheme should be of a general nature, and largely academic. 
The junior high school is well fitted to foster the wide varietj' of prevocational, 
or try-out acti\'itie3 through which only a boy or girl can be sure of making 
a wise choice of a vocation. This early choice is necessary, as many pupils 
can not longer remain in the school. 

The junior high school should provide for at least five courses at each 
center. A required group and four elective groups — one strongly academic, 
one commercial, one agricultural and one in "Practical Arts".' 

The senior high school should provide for at least six courses at each 
center — a required group, and five elective groups, — an academic, a pro- 
fessional, a commercial, an agricultural, and a "Technical Arts" group. ^ 

There are at least three steps in the method of preparing pupils for 
creative and productive work along every line: (1) A period of general educa- 
tion is necessary, a period when the base, or foundation for all occupations 
and future work is laid.. The pupils should obtain this education, largely 
academic, in the elementary schools (Grades I- VI inclusive), ending when 
the pupil has reached approximately the twelfth year. All callings in life 
require a certain amount of general education before efficient preparation for 
a specific occupation can profitably commence. (2) There must be also, a 
prevocational period of training when boys or girls should be finding them- 
selves vocationally and trying themselves out to determine which calling in 
life they should prepare for and pursue. (3) There must be also a period for 
vocational training proper — a time when the aim, primarily, of the instruction 
should be to prepare directly for the particular calling he or she expects to 
follow if they are vocationally trained. This is, also, the period for academic 
training proper — a time when the aim, primarily, is preparatory along academic 
lines, for college or university work. 

A knowledge about and an interest in the various fundamental occupa- 
tions of life, habits of thinking and working, powers of observation and gaining 
control of the various parts of the body are necessary prerequisites for any 
and all the many kinds of work. 

In the reorganization plan under which the school department of Berkeley, 
California, is now working, which was inaugurated January, 1910, the twelve 



'Practical Arts usually include industrial arts, domestic science and agriculture but the term 
varies. 

"Technical Arts usually include cooking, sewing, mechanical drawing, art, crafts and 
shop — (wood work, metal, machine). 

58 



grades, or years, are divided into three groups; the Elementary group, com- 
prising the first six years of school life (exclusive of the kindergarten); the 
Intermediate School group (Grades VII-VIII-IX), and the Upper High 
School group (Grades X-XI-XII). This Intermediate group is the same 
as the Prevocational and Junior High School group, the Junior High School, 
as of Detroit, Michigan, or the Central School group as used by other schools. 
On a somewhat similar basis, the Course of English Study, in this thesis, is 
laid. 

Los Angeles, California, J. H. Francis, superintendent. In September, 
1910, the seventh and eighth grades of several schools in one section of Los 
Angeles were assembled at the San Pedro Street School (B. W. Reed, principal) 
for departmental work, in which certain optional subjects were offered and 
in which promotion was made by points. So well did the experiment succeed, 
that in September, 1911, four buildings, suitable at points central to im- 
portant attendance districts, were cleared of lower-grade children and filled 
with the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, who were drawn from the schools 
which they formerly attended. The department also committed itself to 
the plan of extending the high school upward two years as well as down- 
ward. Ultimately, when all details have been worked out, the school depart- 
ment will comprise the following groups: An elementary division, beyond 
the kindergarten, of six years; an "intermediate-school" division of three 
years; and a "high-school" period covering five years and giving work which 
is the equivalent of that to be had in the freshman and sophomore years of 
college curricula. The last two years of the five year high-school period is 
now known as "The Los Angeles Junior College", consisting of grades XIII 
and XIV. 

Superintendent Francis, in speaking of the organization, writes as follows: 

"This grouping is necessary from physiological, psychological, and sociological viewpoints. 

Physiologically and psychologically the content of things taught and the method of presenta- 
tion should differ with the preadolescent and the adolescent child. The principles involved are 
too well known to the teacher to justify discussion. With the facts so patent and well known, 
the marvel is we have tolerated the present grouping so long. 

From the sociological viewpoint we hope to benefit greatly the child who will attend high 
school, the child who will not attend high school, the pupils who will go to the university, and 
the pupils who will not go to the university. Of these groups we regard the second and last as 
the greatest importance. A fifth thing, and no less important, we hope to accomplish is that 
of holding boys and girls in school through the only logical and rational means, that of interest 
in the work they are doing. 

I have no doubt but that the new grouping will result in — ^(1) A saving of time. All that 
is meritorious that we accomplish in our 16 years of school work can be done better in 14 years 
under proper organization. There is enough that we are not doing, and that should be done, 
to occupy the other two years. 

(2) A conservation of right ideals. The attitude of the average pupil toward scholarship 
and mental attainments is not sound, and as a result our schools are not producing thinkers. I 
believe the content and methods of instruction in seventh and eighth grades under the old plan 
to be responsible in part for this miserable condition. 

(3) A larger number and better class of students in the high schools and universities. Both 
to-day are carrying many who should not be there, for they lack purpose and will not make 
adequate returns to society for the money and the effort expended upon them. On the other 
hand, there are countless numbers who should be in attendance in these schools and are not 

59 



because of discouragements due to courses of study and the time and money necessary to get 
what they desire. 

(4) A grouping and presentation of subjects that will enable us to do for the intermediate 
pupil what the high school to-day is doing for its pupils. 

(5) A grouping and presentation of subjects that will enable our 14-year high schools to 
produce technically trained men and women in music, art, commerce.industry, agriculture, 
and home economics. 

(6) Allowing the university to occupy its legitimate field and do real university work. ~ 

I thoroughly believe that the reorganization of the school system along these lines is the 
largest and most significant educational movement in modern times." (46) 

An excerpt from the U. S. Bureau of Education says: 

"The Hall school of child study has made clear the existence of at least two significant 
periods in the development of children — the adolescent and the preadolescent periods. Each 
of these is shown to have differentiating and distinguishing characteristics, both physica and 
mental. In the preceding chapter it was shown that the six-three-three arrangement of grades 
is one which recognizes these stages of child development and that it is an arrangement of school 
machinery making it easy for school officials to plan and carry their work into effect in confolrmity 
to the differing characteristics of these periods. In the selection of the content of a course of 
study and in the arrangement of the detail in an orderly and progressive whole, due regard must 
be paid to the matter of stages in child growth. 

Again, concerning the high-school course, the committee recommend a six-year course, 
beginning with the seventh year, on the grounds that the seventh grade, ratl\er than the ninth, 
is the natural turning point in the pupil's life; that an easier transition can thereby be made 
from the one-teacher regimen to the system of special teachers; that a larger percentage of 
students would, through this arrangement, be retained in school; and that the final result would 
be a more closely articulated system, with a larger percentage of graduates from the high- 
school." (46) 

The reorganization of the secondary school system is not the only factor 
necessary to facilitate the proper study of the material in the Course of English 
Study. There is another factor, equally important, even if not more so, and 
that factor is— the teacher. A teacher training for secondary teaching and 
one training for elementary teaching should make a specific difference in the 
method of his preparation for teaching. Dean Luckey informs us that: 

"Education has been defined as the process of mental development, or the adjustment of 
the individual to his environment. But a more complete though somewhat awkward definition 
is the following: Education is the process of the reconstruction and utilization of experiences 
by means of which the individual is brought into sympathetic relations with, and given ever- 
increasing control of, his environment. With this definition before us, teaching becomes the 
intelligent guidance in this adaptation; teaching then is, in the truest as well as the broadest 
sense, character building. To be efficient and vital the teaching must be adapted at all points 
to the interests, the nature, and the immediate needs of the child who is to be influenced by it. 
The pupil must feel at every point that what he is doing is worth while. In order to put into 
operation such teaching, it is necessary to make a specific difference in the methods of the prepara- 
tion of elementary and of secondary teachers. 

The material for mental development naturally covers two fields; the great commercial and 
industrial subjects — the objective of scientific world; the great literary and culture subjects — the 
subjective or humanistic world. The one administers most to man's material wants, the other, 
to his spiritual. 

In early school life the child is more interested in the objective world — nature, things, and 
natural objects. These furnish the key by means of which he becomes familiar with the symbols 
and forms (tools) of thought. 

In secondary education he is better prepared for, if not more interested in, the humanistic 
world — history, language, literature, and begins to lay the foundation for broad culture and 
scientific research. 



(46) U. S. Bureau of Education, pp. 86-87, 117. 



In the higher education he naturally limits the field of his activity, selecting one or more 
subjects from either the scientific or humanistic field. He brings to bear upon them the search 
light of his experiences, and makes them the foundations for further investigations and philosoph- 
ical thought, the relating and unifying of all experiences. 

The mental development of the individual covers three important periods; the early formative 
period, extending from birth to puberty; the period of orientation or mental adjustment, extend- 
ing from the beginning of puberty to probably 18; the period of manhood, specialization, and 
professional life. 

The first period is covered by elementary, foundation studies; formative disciplinary work; 
general information concretely represented. The second is covered by the high school studies; 
less of form more of content; a period of relating adjusting and classifying knowledge; a period 
of orientation and transition from that of the acquisition of knowledge through instruction to 
that of the acquisition of knowledge through original research and investigation. The third 
period is covered by the last years of the college, and the special professional schools. It is the 
work of specializing for a vocation. 

The instructional method, which is best adapted to the education of children, and the 
laboratory method, or method of scientific research,, more suitable for the work of advanced 
students, have but little in common. They represent the two extremes in the methods of teaching. 
The high school, representing the transition period, possesses some features belonging to each. 

In the elementary school all subjects yield to the instructional method, i. e., the method 
through which the teacher brings together, in an orderly and systematic arrangement, all the 
essential material on the subject in the form most easy of acquisition by the learner. In the high 
school some of the subjects are formative, or disciplinary, and require the instructional method, 
while other subjects are more a matter of content, mental adjustment, individual effort and 
discovery, and yield more readily to the laboratory or scientific method, a method in which the 
student is placed under greater responsibility and given greater freedom for independent action. 

The secondary teacher, therefore, must be a master of both methods. He must be skilled 
in imparting knowledge when dealing with those subjects, or parts of subjects, in which the student 
must become familiar. But he must also be a student, master of the tools and the method of 
research, and capable of interesting and intelligently guiding his students in independent action 
and original investigations." (22) 

In order that the work in English, in the Secondary Schools, may cultivate 
accuracy, develop an appreciation of the beautiful in language, secure an 
enlargement and an enrichment of the type-forces, or ideals of life, it is neces- 
sary that emphasis be placed upon three distinct phases of English instruction: 
(1) Constructive Enghsh, (2) Technical English, (3) Literature. If, however, 
we consider English on the basis of a two-fold classification we shall then 
have: (1) Composition, (2) Literature. We shall, however, consider the 
application of Technical English or Technical Grammar as necessary to both 
of these divisions. 

The definite aim in teaching Constructive English, or Composition work, 
is to enable the pupil to speak and write in simple, clear, forceful and correct 
English. To these aims should be added the development of individuality 
in speech, that is, of style. 

The work is of two kinds, oral and written. Oral composition means 
much more than merely the expressions used in common, ordinary every day 
life — it includes much longer and more connected speech, such as incidents, 
topics from history, geography, science, character sketches, reproduction of 
stories, in fact any thing that demands attention to form and substance, or 
meaning. Effective teaching also demands criticism of any thing which aids 
in the oral delivery of thought, such as proper pronunciation of words, posture 



(22) Luckey, pp. 233-236. 

61 



and the ability to stand before a class and command attention. An applica- 
tion of Technical English may be made here very successfully by calling 
attention to compound sentences, connectives, or whatever is essential to 
good work at this period. In order that the teaching in Constructive English, 
or Composition work may be effective, form and substance must be taken 
into consideration. 

As to Technical English, or Technical Grammar, it is necessary to have 
a review of grammatical principles and to improve an opportunity for further 
systematic progress in the study of English. It should be largely taught as 
applied English. Technical English is necessary as a time-saving educational 
device, as an element to strengthen Constructive English, or Composition 
Work and as a helpful agency in the interpretation of literature. Concrete 
examples should be given to illustrate the value of this division of English. 
Mr. Charles Swain Thomas has made the point clear by his illustration from 
Bryant's To A Waterfowl: 
^ There is a Power whose care 

Teaches thy way along the pathless coast, — 

The desert and illimilable air, — 

Lone wandering, but not lost. 

He says: "The pupil on first thought may regard desert as a noun. But 
by careful questioning on the part of the teacher, the pupil will be led to see 
that desert — here almost synonymous with empty — is an adjective modifying 
air. And with this grammatical conception established, there will come to 
the pupil an enlarged sense of the beauty of the poet's vision." The main 
end to be sought for is: (1 ) The securing of a sense of accuracy in expression; 
(2) The development of a response to vitalized literature. 

As to the third division of English which is Literature, the primary aim is 
to develop appreciation. In developing appreciation of the selection as a 
whole, the sentiment and other meanings are the essential things. As a 
means of developing this subjective reaction, or appreciation, special attention 
must be given to meanings of words, phrases, figures, sensory activities, or 
sense appeals, and characterization through observation of life and the study 
of literature. Details such as involve further analytic work are necessary, 
but they must be wisely subservient to the desired end — appreciation of litera- 
ture itself. 

The literature period, which allows emphasis to fall upon lines of conduct, 
through lessons and examples in integrity, in courtesy, in patriotism, in the 
performance of allotted daily tasks, leads to the development of a worthy 
character. 

The method or process of correlating is: (1) To develop the cultural 
activities, or sensibilities of the vocationally trained pupil, and of the liberally 
trained pupil; (2) to increase the knowledge, or information of the vocation- 
ally trained pupil and of the liberally trained pupil; (3) to develop, primarily, 
the capacity of the vocationally trained pupil to earn a living, and to become 
an efficient member of society. 

This is done by developing the informational, or knowledge phase of the 
pupil's life by means of Vocational Literature and by developing the Literary 

62 



consciousness of the pupils through the aesthetics of hfe and things; by study 
of the aesthetics of words, of the aesthetics of phrases, of the esthetics of 
figures, of the sensory activities, or sense appeals and of the aesthetics of 
character. 

Ernesto Nelson, Director of Secondary Education, Argentina, says: 

"In the secondary school of to-day, therefore, and, to a certain extent even in the primary 
school, knowledge-gettinrj is still the prominent activity, throwing into the shade all other activities 
more vitally concerned with the character-forming end of education. Information is what may 
be called the building blocks of the present system of education. Information is the factor that 
conditions the pupil's progress through school and is so far the only test universally accepted as 
a measure of the amount of education given or received. The curriculum, the textbook, the 
examination paper are the most important pieces of the educational machinery, and this costly 
and formidable machinery is not concerned, as one should think it ought to be, with the self- 
development of the student and the testing of the real progress of his personality, but solely with 
standardizing, circulating, and testing the amount of information a person has to receive in order 
to be worthy of the privilege of being educated by the state. * * * 

Nothing is further from the purpose of tWs paper than the idea that knowledge should receive 
little attention in the field of education. In fact, knowledge could not possibly be separated 
from the process of education. Wherever there is self-activity, knowledge of some kind is sure to 
come as a result. Just as heat is the dynamic equivalent of physical energy, so knowledge is the 
intellectual equivalent of a useful psychic activity. Science is mind made, and has also made 
man's mind. Science is the specific subject matter to which the mind may usefully apply itself. 
It is the food on which the mind grows. 

But if there can be no education without knowledge getting, there is a considerable amount 
of knowledge getting that does not promote a corresponding educational activity. 

This counterfeit knowledge is the kind of knowledge resulting from undue stress on the 
knowledge-getting side of education. * * * 

Up to the present the school authorities have been busy organizing knowledge, not education. 
The school program of to-day is made up of carefully distributed information among the successive 
stages of school work. We have yet to devise a system of activities of really educational sig- 
nificance. The laboratory method has been a step in that direction, but an immense amount of 
such organization, to make it consistent throughout, remains to be done in all departments of 
learning. * * * 

When a, set of occupations has been devised that Vidll train the spiritual possibilities stored 
in man, we shall have a system of education which will be the intellectual and ethical counterpart 
to the many systems for building up the human body. -Strangely enough, although many nations 
claim to possess their own system of intellectual education, none has so far organized a system 
that will bring out the latent individual powers of the child, the adolescent, and the youth, with 
all its sequel of rightly obtained information." (47) 

Charles EHott informs us that: 

"The difference between a good workman and a poor one in agriculture, mining, or manu- 
facturing is the difference between the man who possesses well-trained senses and good judgment 
in using them and the man who does not. 

It follows from these considerations that the training of the senses should always have a 
prime object in human education, at every stage from primary to professional. That prime object 
it has never been, and is not to-day. The kind of education the modern world has inherited from 
ancient times was based chiefly on literature. Its principal materials, besides some elementary 
mathematics, were sacred and profane writings, both prose and poetry, including descriptive 
narration, history, philosophy, and religion; but accompanying this tradition of language and 
literature was another highly useful transmission from ancient times — the study of the fine arts, 
with the many kinds of skill that are indispensible to artistic creation. * * * 



(47) U. S. Bureau of Education, pp. 23-26. 



63 



It must not be imagined that any advocate of more sense training in education expects to 
diminish the exercise of the reasoning powers or of the motive powers which distinguish man 
from the other animals, or to impair man's faith in the spiritual unity of the world, or his sense 
of duty toward fellowmen, or his sympathies with them. The devotees of natural and physical 
science during the last 150 years have not shown themselves inferior to any other class of men 
in their power to reason and to will, and have shown themselves superior to any class of men in 
the value of worth to society of the product of those powers. The men who have done most for 
the human race since the nineteenth century began, through the right use of their reason, imagina- 
tion, and will, are the men of science, the artists, and the skilled craftsmen, not the metaphysicians, 
the orators, the historians, or the rulers. In modern times the most beneficent of the rulers have 
been men who have shared in some degree the new scientific spirit, and the same is true of the 
metaphysicians. As to the real poets, teachers of religion, and other men of genius, their best 
work has the scientific quality of precision and truthfulness; and their rhetorical or oratorical worV 
is only second best. The best poetry of the last three centuries perfectly illustrates this general 
truth. Shakespeare wrote: 

I know a bank whereon the wild thyme grows. 
The florists now tell us that thyme will not thrive except on a bank. George Herbert wrote: 

Sweet day, so cool, so 'calm, so bright; 
The bridal of the earth and sky, 
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night. 
For thou must die. 

Precision of statement could go no further; thought and word are perfectly accurate. Emerson 
said to the rhodora: 

The selfsame power that brought me here, brought you. 
A more accurate description of the universal Providence could not be given. Even martial poetry 
often possesses the same absolute accuracy: 

Oh! Tiber, Father Tiber, 
To whom the Romans pray, 
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms. 
Take thou in charge this day! 
Cannon to the right of them. 
Cannon to the left of them, 
Volleyed and thundered. 
Into the jaws of Death 
Rode the six hundred. 
When human emotions are so stirred, and human wills inspired, it is the accurate, perfectly 
true statement which moves most, and lasts longest: 

Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. 
The most exact, complete, satisfying, and influential description of true neighborliness in all 
literature is the parable of the Good Samaritan: 

Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbor unto him that fell among the robbers? 

And he said. He that showed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him. Go and do thou 

likewise. 

It is a great lesson to be drawn from The Great War that under the passionate excitemen t 

and tremendous strain of the wide spread disaster the medical profession and the nurses of all 

countries are holding firmly to that exact definition of the neighbor, and are obeying strictly the 

command, 'Do thou likewise.' These are men and women who have received thorough training 

of the senses without suffering any loss of quick sympathy or of human devotion. 

Rhetorical exaggeration, paradox, hyperbole, and rhapsody doubtless have their use in moving 
to immediate action masses of ordinary men and women; but they are not the finest weapons 
of the teacher and the moralist: 

Speaks for itself the tact. 
As unrelenting Nature leaves 
Her every act." (47) 



(47) U. S. Bureau of Education, pp. 6-14. (Charles W. Eliot.) 

64 



The knowledge-getting side of education and the "spiritual possibilities" 
stored up in humanity should be closely correlated in literature. The essential 
principles which guide us in the instruction in English Language and Literature 
are: (1) To develop the sense of ability to speak, read, and write with facility 
and correctness; (2) to develop the objective and the subjective meaning of 
the message. 

The first principle has to do, primarily, with Constructive Enghsh and 
with Technical English while the second principle has to do with Literature. 

As to the objective meaning of the message of the selection in literature 
the pupil must see what facts the writer is trying to impart and he must 
translate the arbitrary signs which we call words into concepts, or notions. 

Tolstoi says that, practically, the aim of art is to communicate feeling 
from one soul to another. This transfer of feeling is construed or couched 
in such a way as to embody his emotions so as to arouse in others the same 
or similar feelings. This concrete something may be a cathedral, a picture, 
or a poem, etc. The feeling kindled by a landscape may be imparted by means 
of a painting or as shown by Ruskin in a word-picture, while Millet conveys 
the same feeling by means of a picture, "The Man With the Hoe". To 
communicate feelings one uses details and suggestive words. 

I. Words. 

"All the words in our language, or in any language, are either Prose Words, that is, words 
which denote knowledge mainly, or Emotional Words, that is, such as express mainly feeling. 
There are well-marked divisions of the Second or Emotional class of words. * * * 

All objects tend either to enhance the forces of the soul, or to obstruct and waste them. 
Hence the ideas of things, so far as they are spiritually discerned, sustain or relax the tone of 
consciousness; they raise the pressure of the blood in the brain or depress it." (36) 

Literature has to do, primarily, with the emotional meanings rather 
than with the intellectual or logical meanings. We may then say that we 
have words of power, or words that inspire, or move and words of knowledge, 
or words that inform. 

All emotional reactions come from the degree to which the type-forces, 
or ideals, or inner senses, are satisfied with the type-qualities involved. 

Intellectual meanings do not satisfy. The definitions of words, as given 
in the dictionary, do not give us the real meaning. The International Dic- 
tionary defines the word "Hly" as "an endogenous bulbous plant having a 
regular perianth of six colored pieces, six stamens, and a superior three-celled 
ovary". This is not the real meaning of "lily" for the real meaning is to be 
identified in the effect "hly" has upon the sensibilities or ideals. Such a 
plan for the study of words has been outlined by Dean L. A. Sherman in the 
Supplement to the Nebraska High School Manual, 1914. He says: 

"A literary sensitiveness and consciousness must be developed. The sensibilities can be 
exercised by realizing the sentiment connotation of ideas and words, just as an arithmetical or a 
musical consciousness can be built up by practicing combinations of numbers or of tones. The 
study of the feeling aspects of things, begun in the kindergarten, must not be left to chance, but 
continued in the grades. Only a little attention, week by week, is necessary, but that little is 
imperative. If the work is not done before the student reaches the high school, it should be 



(36) Sherman, pp. 3-28. . 

65 



administered there. A few systematic exercises in bringing home to the pupils the esthetic 
aspects of things, through the analysis of words, phrases and figures, will open the world of senti- 
ment and poetry to neglected and backward students, and supply, in a working measure, this 
fundamental need. Surprising quickness of imagination has been developed, by these means, 
in unresponsive, unpromising pupils of foreign birth. The study of characterization, by imag- 
inative appeals, will greatly enlarge the significance of literature, and may be taught along with 
the analysis of ideas and figures. * * * 

The sensibilities of literature pupils must therefore be trained intensively. As Professor 
Tolman has said, in the sentences quoted from his Circular, the poetry of Shakespeare must be 
studied at first hand. Of course all other poetry must be studied, not less than Shakespeare's, 
at first hand. This can hardly be done by questions. The unit is too small. We need to analyze 
sentences, to find the thought. We must analyze ideas and words, to find the sentiment out of 
which poetry is constructed." (25) 

(For complete treatment of analysis of words see Numbers 25 and 36 in 
Bibliography.) 

Some Devices for Words. 
WORD-PICTURES. 

Word-pictures, or words calling up different pictures in different pupil's 
minds may be employed quite effectively in training the sensibilities. These 
may be reproduced in a drawing or painting or used for a story. The sug- 
gestiveness of the word will differ according to the individual and his environ- 
ment. Some suggestive words that may call up a picture in the pupil's 
mind from which he may tell a story are: 

bridge. pine. 

clouds. snow. 

hills. tree. 

mountain. waterfall. 

palm. winter. 
Then there are: 
Pictorial Word-Signs which may symbolize or suggest certain qualities as: 

dove peace. 

eagle power. 

fox cunning. 

lion courage. 

wolf greediness. 

In the Vocational work especially, Trade-Marks and Trade Names may 
be found very interesting and suggestive. The Trade-Mark is said to be, 
and really is a Business Asset, as is shown by the following: 

"It is said, on good authority, that the Royal Baking Powder Company considers its trade- 
mark worth just $1,600,000 a letter. This is, perhaps, the most valuable trade-mark in existence, 
though it is rivaled in value by 'Kodak', 'Uneeda', 'Ivory' (as applied to soap), 'Coca-Cola', 
the name 'Gillette' used in connection with safety razors, and a half dozen others. Each of 
these trade-marks has become a national institution. To displace them in the mind would require 
competition of unheard-of magnitude and energy. 

The name 'Coca-Cola' is worth at least five million dollars; * * * 



(25) Nebraska High School Manual. Supplement in English, pp. 24-26. 




SNOW 



Selling by trade-mark is one of the miracles of modern merchandising. Its development to 
a state of high efficiency has taken place during the last hundred years. * * * 'Wanamaker's' is a 
trade-name and 'Kodak' is a trade-mark. * * * No matter how distinctive or attractive a mark 
may be, it is worth but little if it is used in connection with an inferior article or with an article 
sold without profit. 

But a distinctive and suggestive trade-mark is of immense help in advertising and selling. 
Consider, for example, the trade-mark of Old Dutch Cleanser. It is full of human interest, motion, 
life, and suggestion. It brings up in the mind the mental picture of dirt fleeing from an energetic 
Dutch scouring woman. That this mark has been a powerful aid to sales is obvious. Suppose 
Old Dutch Cleanser had been called Climax Cleaning Powder. Can you imagine anybody 
acquiring more than the most languid interest in anything with a name so dull? It reminds one 
of hard and sordid toil. 

Many portraits of living persons are used as trade-marks — notable among them being the 
face of W. L. Douglas, shoe manufacturer; and the portrait of Thomas A. Edison. * * * 

Among historical characters the picture and signature of Robert Burns, the poet, are com- 
bined in a trade-mark for cigars; the face of Benjamin Franklin is used as a trade-mark for the 
Saturday Evening Post, and will be found printed on the editorial page of each issue; Bismarck 
is the name for collars; Napoleon is used in connection with a brand of flour and "Bob" Ingersoll 
is the trade-mark of a cigar." (24) 

Some selections from Literature in which Words may be classified: 

1. From Matthew Arnold: Sohrab and Rustum. 

* * * "But she 
Lies dying, with the arrow in her side 
In some far stony gorge out of his ken, 
A heap of fluttering feathers — never more 
Shall the lake glass her, flying over it; 
Never the black and dripping precipices 
Echo her stormy scream as she sails by: 

2. From Keats: St. Agnes Eve. 

"St. Agnes — Ah, bitter chill it was! 
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold; 
The hare limp'd trembling through the frozen grass. 
And silent was the flock in woolly fold: 
Numb were the Beadsman's fingers, while he told 
His rosary, and while his frosted breath. 
Like pious incense from a censer old, 
Seem'd taking flight for heaven, without a death. 
Past the sweet Virgin's picture, while his prayer he saith. ' 

3. From Tennyson: Lancelot and Elaine. 

"Elaine the fair, Elaine the lovable, 
Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat, 
High in her chamber up a tower to the east 
Guarded the sacred shield of Lancelot; 
Which first she placed where morning's earliest ray 
Might strike it, and awake her with the gleam; 
Then fearing rust or soilure fashion'd for it 
A case of silk, and braided thereupon 
All the devices blazon'd on the shield 
In their own tinct, and added, of her wit, 
A border fantasy of branch and flower. 
And yellow-throated nestling in the nest." 



(24) Munn & Co., pp. 1-2-6-23. 

67 



Some Excerpts on Words. 

1. From Longinus: 

CHOICE OF WORDS. 
"That a choice of the right words and of grand words wonderfully attracts and charms 
hearers — that this stands very high as a point of practice with all orators and all writers, because, 
of its own inherent virtue, it brings greatness, beauty, raciness, weight, strength, mastery, and an 
exultation all its own, to grace our words, as though they were the fairest statues — that it imparts 
to mere facts a soul which has speech — it may perhaps be superfluous to set at length, for my 
readers know it. For beautiful words are, in a real and special sense, the line of thought." (21) 

2. From Spencer: 

CHOICE OF WORDS. 

"How truly language must be regarded as a hindrance to thought, though the necessary 
instrument of it, we shall clearly perceive on remembering the comparative force with which 
simple ideas are communicated by signs. To say 'Leave the room', is less expressive than to 
point to the door^ Placing the fingers on the lips is more forcible than whispering, 'Do not speak'. 
A beck of the hand is better than, 'Come here'. No phrase can convey the idea of surprise so 
vividly as opening the eyes and raising the eyebrows. A shrug of the shoulders would lose much 
by translating into words. Again, it may be remarked that when oral anguage is employed, 
the strongest effects are produced by interjections, which condense entire sentences into syllables. 
And in other cases, where custom allows us to express thoughts by words, as in Beware, Heigho, 
Fudge, much force would be lost by expanding them into specific propositions. Hence, carrying 
out the metaphor that language is the vehicle of thought, there seems reason to think that in all 
cases the friction and inertia of the vehicle deduct from its efficiency; and that in composition, 
the chief, if not the sole thing to be done, is, to reduce the friction and inertia to the smallest 
amount possible. Let us then inquire whether economy of the recipient's attention is not the 
secret of effect, alike in the right choice and collocation of words, in the best arrangement of clauses 
in a sentence, in the proper order of its principal and subordinate propositions, in the judicious 
use of simile, metaphor, and other figures of speech, and even in the rythmical sequence of 
syllables. 

The greater forcibleness of Saxon English, or rather non-Latin English, first claims our 
attention. The several special reasons assignable for this may all be reduced to the general 
reason — economy. The most important of them is early association. A child's vocabulary is 
almost wholly Saxon. He says, I have, not I possess — I wish, not I desire. He does not reflect, 
he thinks; he does not beg for amusement, but for play; he calls things nice or nasty, not pleasant 
or disagreeable. The synonyms which he learns in after years, never become so closely, so organ- 
ically connected with the ideas signified, as do these original words used in childhood; hence 
the association remains less strong. But in what does a strong association between a word and 
an idea differ from a weak one? Simply in the greater ease and rapidity of the suggestive action. 
It can be nothing else. Both of two words, if they be strictly synonymous, eventually call up 
the same image. The expression — it is acid, must in the end give rise to the same thought as — it 
is sour; but because the term acid was learnt later in life, and has not been so often followed 
by the thought symbolized, it does not so readily arouse the thought as the term sour. If we 
remember how slowly and with what labour the appropriate ideas follow unfamiliar words in 
another language, and how increasing familiarity with such words brings greater rapidity and 
ease of comprehension; and if we consider that the same process must have gone on with the 
words of our mother tongue from childhood upwards, we shall clearly see that the earlier learnt 
and oftenest used words will, other things equal, call up images with less loss of time and energy 
than their later learnt synonjrms. * * * 

The shortness of Saxon words becomes a reason for their greater force. One qualification, 
however, must not be overlooked. A word which in itself embodies the most important idea to 
be conveyed, especially when that idea is an emotional one, may often with advantage be a poly- 
syllabic word. Thus it seems more forcible to say, 'It is magnificent', than 'It is grand'. The 
word vast is not so powerful a one as stupendous. Calling a thing nasty is not so effective as 
calling it disgusting. * * * 



(21) Longinus, p. 55. 

68 



Once more, that frequent cause of strength in Saxon and other primitive words — their 
imitative character, may be similarly resolved into the more general cause. Both those directly 
imitative, as splash, bang, whiz, roar, etc., and those analogically imitative, as rough, smooth, keen, 
blunt, thin, hard, crag, etc., have a greater or less likeness to the thing symbolized; and by making 
on the senses impressions allied to the ideas to be called up, they save part of the effort needed 
to call up such ideas, and leave more attention for the ideas themselves. 

The economy of the recipient's mental energy, into which are thus resolvable the several 
causes of the strength of Saxon English, may equally be traced in the superiority of specific over 
generic words." (39) 

3. From University Studies: 

ON THE COLOR-VOCABULARY OF CHILDREN. 

"The very interesting investigations and discussions on the development of the color-sense 
in man, during historical times, have incidentally shown the deficiency of ancient languages in 
words for simple sensations. * * * In seeking evidence for the recent evolution of the sense of color, 
Gladstone, Geiger, and others have shown that few words denoting color are used in the earliest 
literature of several nations. Furthermore, most of the color-words found denote shades of red, 
orange, or yellow. Violet is never named, blue very seldom, and green much less frequently 
than we might expect from its occurrence in nature. Quite similar results have been obtained 
from examples of the vocabularies of modern uncivilized peoples. Although most tribes have 
names for the principal colors of the spectrum, the terms denoting red or yellow are far more 
numerous and much more definite than others. 

The inference from these facts has been that primitive peoples are deficient, not merely in 
words for color, but also in color-perception. * * * On passing from material objects to mental 
phenomena it will be observed that comparatively few simple sensations have names. In this 
respect, however, the modern languages are far superior to the ancient. Locke noticed and 
deemed it worth while to record this peculiarity of language.^ He furthermore remarks concerning 
the indefinite character of names that 'men generally content themselves with some few obvious 
qualities', and adds that in organized bodies it is usually the shape, and in other bodies the color, 
that serves as a distinguishing mark. "2 

In temperature, 'hot', 'warm', 'cold', and 'cool' are the chief terms used. For the muscular 
sense we employ 'heavy', 'light', and 'elastic'. For touch there exist the terms 'rough', 'smooth', 
'shiny', 'granular', 'hard', 'soft', and 'sharp', besides many words taken from materials, as 
'velvety', 'silky', 'gummy', and 'furry'. 'Sour', 'bitter', and 'sweet' are the most important 
designations of taste. Comparison with the taste of better known substances is the chief expedient 
adopted to increase the definiteness of these descriptions. Odors are described in terms quite 
analogous to those employed for tastes. Sounds are 'high', 'loud', 'low', 'shrill', 'deep'. 

It will have been noted that the words for sensatidns given above are, without exception, 
adjectives. Nearly all the corresponding abstract nouns are used; but very few concrete nouns 
for these sensations exist. In sound, however, we have such concrete words as 'time', 'noise', 
'roar', and 'splash', besides many participial nouns, as 'rumbling', and 'singing'. * * * The sense 
of sight, perhaps, has developed a larger vocabulary than any other sense. Its words, too have 
advanced farthest on the way from adjectives to substantives. * * * It may be confidently stated, 
I think, that an educated person possesses a color-vocabulary of at least twenty-five terms. 

There seems little doubt that the practice of naming sensations or objects tends to increase 
the power of discrimination." (50) 

4. From Harper's Weekly: 

THE VALUE OF WORDS. 
* * * "Still words are like people. They have other qualities than precision and authenticity. 
They have glamour and color and texture and quality; they have associational value and breeding 
environment. * * * 



(39) Spencer, pp. f69-173. 

'Essay concerning Human Understanding, Bk. II, Chap. 3, No. 

2Ibid, Bk. Ill, Chap. 6. No. 29. 

(50) Wolfe, pp. 205-234. 



69 



But what the readers of to-day will not bear with is having his attention strained or held 
long at any given point. Meredith, Browning, Swineburne, James, Pater, and Hearne sacrificed 
readers because of their devotion to words, and because they would write words faithful to the 
coloring of their own spirit. * * * 

Perhaps Mr. Henry James somewhat overdoes the slow method when he announces a death 
by saying, 'the extremity of personal absence had indeed just overcome him', but at least the 
phrase has individuality; and Shakespeare conveyed the same idea by speaking of shuffling off 
this mortal coil, and the Bible, by yielding up the ghost. None of these phrases put haste before 
beauty. 

* * * We look to France for literary culture above all other countries, and yet M. Henri 
Bergson said of Maeterlinck that he was little read, and understood only by the more highly 
educated circles. So words, as things in themselves, must be the luxury of the few; of those who 
still read poetry and old essays and the mediaeval mystics. It is the poets indeed who have deserved 
most nobly of words; who have chiefly endowed them with color and personality and associational 
value. 

'It is really odd', said a young girl, the other day, walking through an old-fashioned garden, 
'how the flowers are mixed up with the poets that'you can not think of them separately. Who 
could see vine leaves and not think of Hedda, or lilacs without remembering Keats. If it is a bed 
of pansies you look at, you see Ophelia, face downward in the marsh in which Millais drowned her. 
The geranium always brings back the glass of water by Eveline's bedside. I never saw basil 
growing, but if one did and called it the basil plant one would think of Keats; but if one called 
it 'sweet basil' one thinks of Shelley's unknown Madonna'. 

It was quite true, only the thought might be carried farther. For who looks at a growling, 
angry, northern sea thinks of Shelley; and if you see from a height a far-off wrinkled sea you 
remember Tennyson; and if you swim in the ocean you recite Swineburne. If you see scenery 
that reminds you of a garish postal-card, with a castle and water-fall and moonlight, you are 
back again with Tennyson and 

'The long light shakes 
Across the lakes 
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.' 

When you see buildings mirrored in water you are with Shelley again, as you are when- 
ever you see tiny shallops in flowing water, and the big sea liners and coastwise steamers speak 
loudly of Kipling. 

The heavens and the stars and the whole shifting scenery of the sky, clouds and moon and 
dropping sun, belong largely to Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Shelley; and skylarks and nightingales 
belong to Shelley and Matthew Arnold and George Meredith. * * * Who would say 'daedal' or 
'hoary' and not remember Shelley; or subtle and sanguine and fleet without being consciously 
Swineburnian? 

The words of the street may grow and change in form and content and lead the masses 
hither and yon ; but doubtless there will always, too, be quiet shelters where thoughtful men will 
read their poets and learn to love strange words and beautiful, and find them valuable just for 
themselves." (18) 

5. From "The Nation": 

THE WAY OF WORDS. 
"The fact is that words, the most important medium of exchange, are passing into the 
hands of the favored few. * * * The history of words and their combat with ideas can be made 
absorbing. It is not a return to the quixotic methods of Max MuUer that is desirable. Lincoln 
acquired the instinct for words more simply by studying the Bible and a few other great books. 
Once let me get the sense of words in typical operation, as so often happens there, with their 
economy of effort in catching and crystallizing elusive meanings, and we will not willingly lose it. 
It is not for us here to suggest a more practicable means than Lincoln's; and yet we hope, too, 
that when the Oxford Dictionary is completed Sir James Murray, or some one with his enthusiasm, 
will, either by book or by lectures, place the results of that great work rat'her more vitally before 
the popular imagination than can its mere totality." (42) 



(18) Harper's Weekly, p. 5. 
(42) The Nation, p. 543. 



70 



6. From Talks on Teaching Literature: 

"The teacher of literature in the secondary schools, then, is to consider that although his 
work is primarily done as a part of the school requirement, he need not be without some clear 
and deliberate intention in regard to the permanent effect upon the education and so upon the 
character of the pupil. He may treat the getting of his charges through the examinations as a 
purely secondary matter; a matter, moreover, which is practically sure to be accomplished if the 
greater and better purposes of the study have been secured. Besides a general knowledge of 
literary history, the student should gain from his training in the secondary school a vivid sense 
of the importance and value of words; an appreciation of word-values as shown in actual use 
by the masters; should increase in knowledge of life, and as it were gain experiences vicariously, 
so as to advance in perception of intellectual and moral values; should be advanced in the 
control of the feelings; in enthusiasm; and in the development of that noblest of faculties, the 
imagination." (3) 

II. Literary Phrases. 

"Not all the poetic delights of the mind are enabled or occasioned by the influence of words 
alone. Many are complex and not derivable from single ideas or things. A common attribute 
joined to a common object in a new relation does not necessarily yield a product as tame as either 
but may amount to a revelation of beauty." (36) 

We have seen that words owe all their assthetic or emotional power to- 
the type-forces or ideals they stand for. The phrase is the simplest combina- 
tion of type-quahties and is composed of a noun (or other words) as base 
(modified term) and a modifying element (modifier). When the type-quahties 
of the modified term have new qualities added by the modifier, or when the 
old qualities are added to or changed in any way by the type-elements in the 
modifier, we then have, properly, the literary phrase. The modifier may be 
a word, or it may be a prepositional phrase, or it may be a participial phrase — 
examples, wise men; men of wisdom, men possessing wisdom. In the type- 
elements in the experience of life we need not only a single word but such 
elements in a combination of words in order to help us the better to express 
ourselves. There is need then of phrases and also of their scientific meaning. 
Literary phrases are of five classes: Prose; epithetic; figurative; emotional 
and poetic. (For a complete treatment of phrases see number 36 in Bib- 
liography.) 

One way of using these phrases is to select and classify them as given in 
literature. The following are excellent examples for use in classification. 

Literary Phrases from "The Vision of Sir Launfal": 

musing organist .... chilly wall, 

loved instrument .... a charger. 

our infancy the maiden knight. 

great winds unscarred mail. 

faint hearts young knight's heart. 

Druid wood chill winds. 

drowsy blood pastures bare. 

inspiring sea winter-proof. 

lavish summer tinkling waters. 

(3) Bates, p. 27. 
(36) Sherman, p. 52. 

71 



poorest comer . . -. . . steel-stemmed trees. ■ 

day in June winter palace of ice. 

meadows green .... fairy masonry. 

high-tide elfin builders of the frost. 

unscarred heaven .... chimney- wide. , 

season's youth imprisoned sap. | 

burnt-out craters .... Christmas carol. i 

Holy Grail great hall-fire. 

the rushes forest's tangled darksr 

one day of June .... icy strings, 

outpost of winter .... ruddy light. 

Literary phrases may be used also as Subject of Themes. A phrase may 
suggest: (1) An oral story; (2) A written one as in the case of the following 
which was written by a seventh grade girl: 

THE KNIGHT. 

"When I think of a knight, I think of a tall, broad shouldered, young man just ready to 
start out on an errand of mercy. 

He is clothed in armor from head to foot. In his hand he carries a spear and on his arm 
a shield. His pure, handsome, cleanly cut face looks out from 'neath a helmet which sets far 
over his massive forehead. His whole appearance suggests strength and skill and grace. He is 
seated on a large, snow-white charger, also clothed in steel. 

Then I see him later in life. He is riding through the forest perfectly fearless and soon he 
approaches a village which he enters and perhaps there he performs many good missions and 
kills or captures some cruel tyrant. Then he goes back to great glory with his king and other 
knights who were perhaps brought up with him". 

Some selections from Literature in which phrases may be selected and 
classified. 

1. From Keats: Endymion, Book IV. 

"There is a sleepy dusk, an odorous shade 
From some approaching wonder, and behold 
Those winged steeds, with snorting nostrils bold 
Snuff at its faint extreme, and seem to tire. 
Dying to embers from their native fire." 

2. From Shakespeare: Hamlet. 

"Hamlet. Seems, madam! nay, it is; 

I know not 'seems', 
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother. 
Nor customary suits of solemn black. 
Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath. 
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye. 
Nor the dejected haviour of the visage. 
Together with all forms, moods, shows of grief. 
That can denote me truly; these indeed seem. 
For they are actions that a man might play: 
But I have that within which passeth show; 
These but the trappings and the suits of woe." 

3. From Shelley: Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude. 

"Obedient to the light 
That shone within his soul, he went, pursuing 
The windings of the dell. — The rivulet 

72 




THE KNIGHT 



Wanton and wild, through many a green ravine 
Beneath the forest flowed. Sometimes it fell 
Among the moss with hollow harmony- 
Dark and profound. Now on the polished stones 
It danced, like childhood laughing as it went: 
Then through the plain in tranquil wanderings crept. 
Reflecting every herb and drooping bud 
That overhung its quietness." 

III. Figures. 

"Because of the limitations of the mind in devising and remembering 
names, we make the words of our common vocabulary do duty for many 
thousands of meanings for which expression could not be otherwise provided". 
(For complete treatment of figures see number (36 j below.) 
IV. Sensory Activities — Sense Appeals. 

Of course we do not get the exact image that the writer saw unless we 
know certain of the exact details that constituted it in his mind, in this our 
study of sensory imagery, as applied to the interpretation of literature. But 
this exact image is not necessary as the pupil can, if his experience be sufficient, 
recreate the necessary image and thus be in sympathy with the author. 

But the experiences of the pupil are very Hmited, as a rule— he has not 
seen enough. The experiences of the city pupil often differ widely from those 
of the country pupil and vice versa. The spirit of his generation also differs 
widely from that to which his grandmother and grandfather belonged. So 
we should help the pupil understand the spirit of the times in which the selec- 
tion was written and also try to broaden his cognitive (perceptive) powers 
by pictures, conversations, lectures, etc. 

Judd says: 

"Good pedagogy should call into activity all the powers of the mind of the learner. Thus 
in the case of the language teacher, to utilize the visual and the graphic centers only, and allow 
the auditory and the motor speech centers to lie barren, is to get only a portion of the sensory 
impression that may be got if all the centers are utilized. 

Again, since some individuals of a group will learn better by the utilization of the visual 
and the graphic centers, others by the utilization of the auditory and the motor-speech centers, 
etc., every course in language should give opportunity for both forms of impression, that is, for 
the hearing, and seeing (reading); for speaking and writing. 

Language study is best cultivated by utilizing the nervous energy of all four centers, that is, 
the ear, the eye, the vocal organs and the hand. Each must support the other, thus heightening 
the total impression. 

Generalizations, in this case principles and laws, must base upon sense perceptions, in this 
case spoken or written words and phrases, and must follow, not precede them." (20) 

Although we cannot share the exact experiences we can enter sympathet- 
ically into the pupil's pictures and his sensations. My point is that, by 
instilling into the mind of the pupil the necessity of a wise unselfishness, the 
effacement of a too large egoism, and a willingness to become liberally minded, 
he will make the selection vital by the ability to recreate the sensory image— the 
appeals to the five senses. " Captains Courageous" abounds in types of sound 



(36) Sherman, pp. 68-93; 60-86. 
(20) Judd, pp. 228-229. 



73 



and motion. One can hear, see and smell, the sounds, sights and odors 
respectively of the sea. The type idea is prevalent throughout Kipling. 
The type is shown in the following itahcized words. 

Types of Form: 

* * * while behind the cod three or four graybacks broke (he water into boils. 

Types of Motion: 

He passed like a big snake from the table to his bunk. 

Types of Color: 

The sea was running round him in silrer-colored hills. 

Types of Smell: 

* * * a fine full flavor of cod-fish hung round rubber boots and blue jerseys 
* * * and the smell of the earth after rain. 

Types of Sound: 

* * * the anchor came up with a sob. 

To visualize is to image, to picture for the eye, if taken literally. But in 
its broader meaning it appeals to all of the senses. Appeals to the sense of 
hearing are often more powerful than appeals to the sight and the appeals 
to the touch and taste while considered as minor appeals are sometimes full 
of power. The appeal to hearing may be made by words similar in sound 
to the sounds they describe (onomatopoetic words) as buzz of bees; crackle of 
fire; sizzling bacon and eggs; cluck-cluck of the chickens, moo of the cow, 
harsh grunt of the pigs, and the brook sang and bubbled along. Details of 
color, motion and actions are suggestive to sight. 

As to the method of arousing and stimulating these sensory activities we 
may use the following: 

1. Sense appeals — through the medium of the five senses. 

2. Concrete examples, or 

3. Questions by the Teacher. 

After the concrete example is read, such as from Tennyson: Passing of 
Arthur (See 11. 361-393. Contribution III.) The Teacher may call for 
(1) picture, (2) omitted details from members of the class. 

Another plan which may be followed is: The teacher may ask questions 
to bring out certain details as to color, sound, touch, significance of figures, 
epithets, characters, etc. These questions emphasize the value of the sensory 
imagery, for sensory imagery means the concrete impressions — that appeal 
to the senses — seeing, hearing, feeling, touch and taste. Originally all language 
was pictorial, and pupils as well as adults care for the illustrated book, the 
illustrated lecture and the like, so we see the important part these concrete 
visual images occasion in our daily life. 

While the illustrations of the visual and the auditory images are common 
in literature and the appeals made in literature to those sense organs of lesser 

74 



note — smell, touch, and feeling are less often found, yet they are of value. 
As effective uses of the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch we cite 
the following from literature. 

I. From Richard Dehan (Clothilde Inez Mary Graves): Between Two 
Thieves. 

"The horn of the herdsman sounded from the lower Alps, and neckbells tinkled as the long 
lines of placid cows moved from the upper pastures in obedience to the call, breathing perfume 
of scented vetch and honied clover, leaving froth of milk from trickling udders on the leaves and 
grass as they went." 

II. From Stevenson: The Black Arrow. 

1. "An arrow sang in the air, like a huge hornet; it struck old Appleyard between the 
shoulder-blades, and pierced him clean through, and he fell forward on his face among the cabbages. 
Hatch, with a broken cry, leapt into the air; then, stooping double, he ran for the cover of the 
house. And in the meanwhile Dick Shelton had dropped behind a lilac, and had his cross-bow 
bent and shouldered, covering the point of the forest." 

2. "The daylight, which was very clear and gray, showed them a ribband of white foot- 
path wandering among the gorse. Upon this path, stepping forth from the margin of the wood, 
a white figure now appeared. It paused a little, and seemed to look about; and then, at a slow 
pace, and bent almost double, it began to draw near across the heath. At every step the bell 
clanked. Face it had none; a white hood, not even pierced with eye-holes, veiled the head; 
and as the creature moved, it seemed to feel its way with the tapping of a stick. Fear fell upon 
the lads, as cold as death. 

"A leper," said Dick, hoarsely. 

"His touch is death," said Matcham. "Let us run." 

Such sensory images as these with their labeling and analysis are not 
an indispensable condition to the teaching of English, but they are a means 
to an end — to stimulate, to arouse interest. Without going into details, there 
are other ways to the vizualizing process which are ^Iso vital in literature, 
such as the use of concrete illustration to emphasize the abstract, and finally 
the objective message of the selection. 

These images, these pictures in the mind, the sensory impressions, i. e., 
the imaginative concept find in experience their basis. Pupils may take a 
particular passage in a selection that appeals to them and write in such a way 
about it as to bring out the subjective meaning. This message may come 
in the form of a story, an essay, or poem, but whatever it is, the method does 
not vary. The objective message is interpreted in a vivid way by the mind 
of the pupil and he arrives at the subjective meaning. The ultimate meaning 
or message is then revealed. "How they Brought the Good News from Ghent to 
Aix" by Browning is a good illustration of this. 

In order to get a fuller conception of the ultimate truth or subjective 
meaning of the literary message the pupil's mind must perceive the subjective 
message and the incidental development of the intellect and emotions will 
eventually bring an enlargement of consciousness. By revizualizing concepts 
and revitalizing emotions we arrive at the true meaning of life. This har- 
monizes with President Wilson's utterance in the following taken from the 
Supplement in English. 

"President Wilson, in an address delivered before the Association pf American Universities 
in 1910, affirmed that the higher education should insure, essentially, to all privileged to attain 
it, a Scientific Consciousness, a Philosophic Consciousness, a Literary Consciousness, and a 

75 



Historico-Economic Consciousness. The teachers of science, of philosophy, of history and of 
sociology, seem to have established their right, by the effectiveness of their work, to the recognition 
thus accorded. It is for us, who are entrusted with the task of fixing the sympathies and destiny 
of the coming generation towards letters, to make good our claim to the third place in the 
scheme." 

"It is as possible to acquire a rhetorical literary consciousness, by study of twenty or thirty 
topics through a period of at least two years, as of arithmetical processes. To supply these topics, 
it is necessary to analyze the modes of literary masters and adapt them inductively to the student's 
powers. The first task will be to teach him the 'notation' of rhetorical or literary art; that is, 
how to use sense-images, how to impart visual quality to speech. He may do this often, by instinct, 
orally. He cannot compass it every time, in writing, without detailed instruction. 

We find that the simplest means used by great writers is to stimulate rather than direct 
imagination. They produce a picture by bringing incongruous objects or elements together. For 
instance, Hawthorne begins An Old Woman's Tale with this sentence: 

In the house where I was born, there used to be an old woman crouching 
all day long over the kitchen fire, with her elbows on her knees and her feet in 
the ashes. 

Crouching over flames in a fire-place is of course a visualizing pose, but the minds of many 
readers would not respond to it. After compelling and fixing in our consciousness this scene, 
by the incongruity of shoes thrust into warm ashes on the hearth, the author proceeds effectively 
with his sketch. Kipling forces a strong picture, in The Naulahka, by incongruity of action: — 

A few miles from Rawut Junction his driver had taken from underneath 
the cart a sword, which he hung around his neck, and sometimes used on the 
bullocks as a eoad. 

The scene presented in each case spreads in our minds. Each author depends on the principle 
that, if we can arouse imagination by shrewd use of a part, the mind will go on and realize the 
whole. 

Incongruity of elements and incongruity of action will furnish several weeks of incidental 
and interesting work, both in constructing visual scenes from life, and in searching out examples 
of the like in literature. Sense-appeals of color, of sound, of taste, of touch, and of odor, and 
their use in literature, may next be studied. Examples like this from Hardy will be found not to 
be beyond the capacity of grammar and high-school pupils: — 

The lightning now was the color of silver, and gleamed in the heavens like 
a mailed army. A poplar in the immediate neighborhood was like an ink- 
stroke on burnished tin. 

Of course the learner must study out what the given sensation is like, before he attempts 
to impart an experience of it to us through the medium of words. He will not be slow in meeting 
this requirement. He is more acute in classifying and illustrating his impressions than he is like 
to be in maturer years. Inquiry into the potency of sense-appeals to imagination, and into the 
secret of employing this power, is a fascinating theme. We all use this power more or less natur- 
ally and successfully in common talk, but generally fail of effectiveness with it when we use the 
pen. Studies of sense-appeals may be provisionally handled, along with usual rhetorical exercise, 
in a fortnight. * * * 

He might study also here how to combine color with types of form; as in this example: 

The sky was blue, ever so blue, and all silver-notched at the edge, and 
tepeed with snowy mountain peaks. 

Description by angles and other enabling lines of form will make up other topics or divisions, 
in the student's work. He should now variously be helped to realize that imagination concerns 
itself with the framework, the geometry of a scene. or object, as well as with its details. When 



76 



the governing line or angle is given, the mind will often, as with a map, make over the outline 
into a completed picture. Note the effect, on imagination, of this example: 

The conductor stood leaning towards the orchestra, during the interruption, 
with his arm and baton at an angle of forty-five degrees, waiting to resume. 

From the suggestion of the angle, we construct the pose of the conductor, and, with this, 
imagination goes on to supply the orchestra, which he faces, and even the audience behind him 

Elementary description, as dependent thus upon types of form and color, can be administered 
provisionally in a dozen or fifteen lessons. Narration, which is dependent fundamentally upon 
types of movement, will require as many more. The student must learn to analyze motion, just as 
he analyzes form and color, and must specify exactly what modes appear. If he can declare 
the right one, the picture is sure. Note the precision of Dickens here: 

Casting my eyes along the street at a certain point of my progress, I beheld 
Trabb's boy approaching, lashing himself with an empty blue bag. 

The typical idea of 'lashing ' makes us see the movements of the boy, as he strikes himself 
fiercely with the bag over the hips and shoulders. This action, with mention of the 'blue' color, 
so inspires our fancy that we construct the whole scene of the street and the speaker as well as the 
approaching boy. 

Exposition, as the literary development of principles from facts, belongs next, and should 
be taught in definite, inductive lessons. Argumentation, which is applied exposition, may be 
postponed till a later year. The study of characterization, characterization by the use of traits 
or imaginative appeals, should follow exposition. There is probably little need of illustrating, 
here, the modes of characterization used by great writers. The following is a notable example 
from Maupassant: 

Chicot, on the contrary, was red, fat, short, and hairy. He looked like a 
raw beefsteak. He continually kept his left eye closed, as if he were aiming at 
something or at somebody, and when the people said jestingly to him, 'Open 
your eye, Labouise', he would answer, 'Never fear, sister, I'll open it when there 
is a good reason to'. 
Labouise had a habit of calling every one 'sister', even his scavenger partner. 
Of course we gain an acquaintance, by this, with Chicot, much as if we had seen and heard 
what is here set down. We gain acquaintance with people by the same means, whether in life 
or books. We must know how to use this means in order to characterize successfully, ju.st as 
we must know the means of describing and narrating vividly. Rhetoric cannot be administered, 
more than carpentry or cooking or piano-playing, in a general way. There are graded and definite 
steps, steps of which none can be omitted, in every art. (25) 

V. Characterization. 

Oral characterizations, which stimulate the mind to discover the person 
as well as the personality are not dependent upon incongruity of elements or 
upon sense-appeals. There are available besides, the Vizualizing Action and 
the Vizualizing Pose. These supply a momentary picture by way of provincial 
or incidental characterization. 
I. Illustrations of Vizualizing Action: 

1. From Life: 

"Coming along the street was a boy in brown knickerbockers, eating from two ice-cream 
cones, one in each hand." 

"The captain used glue to seal his letters, and never failed to pound on each, after using 
the glue, with his fist." 



(25) Nebraska High School Manual, pp. 28, 7, 8, 9, 10. (Sherman.) 

77 



2. From Literature: 

"No", said Lapham rather absently. He put out his huge foot and pushed the ground- 
glass door shut between his little den and the bookkeepers, in their larger den outside. 

(Howells.) 

II. Illustrations of Vizualizing Pose. 

"Mrs. Lapham stood flapping the cheque which she held in her right hand against the edge 
of her left." 

"During the whole evening, Mr. Jellaby sat in a corner with his head against the wall, as if 
he were subject to low spirits." 

A further means by which to show the presence of persons to the imagina- 
tion is by singularities in dress or looks. 

"Turgenev continually uses the mode to introduce special characters visually and will 
furnish our best examples here: 

A boy of six came up, grimed all over with soot like a kitten, with a shaved head, perfectly 
: aid in places, in a torn, striped frock, and huge overshoes on his bare feet. 

'There was the light click of hurrying heels, the door opened, and in the doorway appeared 
a girl of eighteen, in a chintz cotton gown, with a black straw hat on her fair, rather curly 
hair'." (36) 

We become acquainted with people by acts, words, appearances, and 
environment and judge them by means of "appeals" of character, mood or 
incidents as based on the law of cause and effect. The mode of mental action 
in interpreting appeals is emotional, i. e., it is an inference made in imagination, 
as distinguished from the purely logical process. (For further particulars see 
number 36, in Bibliography.) 

As regards the preparation of English Literature in the primary and 
secondary schools, Dean Sherman, of the Graduate College, University of 
Nebraska, in "Enghsh and English Literature in the College", says: 

"The fact that literature is cast, not in the kind of English that the school youth speaks, 
but in the universalized idiom, terse and weighty in matter, and considerably heavier in vocabulary, 
constitutes the chief difficulty. The average college student, in his first year of residence, can 
scarcely read classical English prose with ready understanding. Professor McElroy, of the 
University of Pennsylvania, puts the case more strongly. He says: 

'Out of the thousands of young men who in the last twenty-two years have entered the 
institution to which our personal knowledge extends, only a few could be said to know their own 
language. * * * Their vocabulary was scarcely larger than a day laborer's; their powers of ob 
servation were of the lowest — of a page of English literature read by them they could give nothing 
approaching a satisfactory account; the words had passed before them in marshalled array, 
only to leave them half blind. Here is again the same gulf fixed between spoken and written 
English that has been already considered in the first part of this paper. * * * This is the difference 
to be overcome. They must learn the ultimate message out of written ivords just as they got it 
out of the spoke7i. They must learn to interpret books just as they read men and things in their 
daily walks outside. The new plan of using complete books like Ivanhoe and Tales From Shakes- 
peare as school readers in the grades, insures greater and more immediate interest than the old 
stereotyped and often meaningless 'reading lesson'. * * * 

Literature is a thing to be understood and felt; and teachers in the secondary schools must 
so regard it. * * * 

The boy who comes to college should have learned how to gather up the sense out of a page 
of plain, common prose as quickly as he ever will. Then can anything be done to keep the sensi- 
bilities of school children from being intellectualized and deadened before college years are 
reached? Very evidently. Sixty years or more ago, under the inspiration of the poet Grundtvig, 



(36) Sherman, pp. 94-129. (Elements of Literary Composition.) 

78 



a school was founded at Askov, Jutland, for the specific end of developing the emotional side of the 
mind. This institution has become famous, and numerous sister academies have sprung up all 
over the kingdom. They are palled Hoj Skoler, 'High Schools', are supported by the Government, 
and aim professedly and conscientiously to secure for their pupils the aandeliy uihikling, 'educa- 
tion of the sensibilities'. The means depended upon for such effect is principally the study of 
famous men, the great characters of history. A better means would surely be literature, if the 
country had one rich and varied enough. Yet these schools are considered wholly successful, 
and are growing in popularity. If we can learn how to teach to the same effect we can easily 
do better in this country. Our instructors must have their pupils read emotional literature to 
help them feel what has feeling in it, just as thought literature to help them interpret thought 
meanings. Let them tell something like the story of Rab and His Friends or the execution of 
Charlotte Corday, preparatory to class reading. Further on, in the first high school years, some- 
thing vastly better can be done, as many experiments have shown. This present term, a tenth 
grade teacher that I know found it impossible to interest her pupils in the lyrics of Tennyson, 
the prescribed work for her year. Only a few in the class were not bored with the notes and com- 
ments they had to learn. There was particularly a big German boy, who was good in other work, 
but conspicuously dull and slow at this. The experiment was tried of setting the class at finding 
out what there was in the poems that was not prose, and determining what words and expressions 
had feeling in them. The whole class was interested in the very first exercise. In the second, 
the stupid German boy and the other dull ones were as good as the best; and the whole class 
read once more the poems first studied as unmeaning things, with evident delight. There will 
be small risk of that class losing its capacity to respond to emotional literature, if the power of 
discernment is not again disused. * * * I had a student once who was recommended by his teacher 
as a genius. He read only the selectest things, and walked knee deep in criticism. Moreover, 
he was afraid of studying literature systematically, according to class methods, lest it should spoil 
his powers of appreciation and injure the delicacy of his poetic sense. I tested those powers 
and that sense one day by getting hirri to read these lines from Tennyson: 

'And I rode and found a mighty hjll. 
And on top a city walled; the spires 
Pricked with incredible pinnacles unto Heaven'. 

•Where is the poetry here in words?' I asked. 'I think it is in 'incredible', he said, or 
'spires'. 'How about 'pricked?' I ventured. 'I don't understand that', he answered. 'I 
don't see any meaning in the sentence'. Yet all there is of Tennyson consists in tremendous 
figures like this — which indeed is but one of the minor great ones. This student poor in penetra- 
tion as he was, could read poetry far better than the majority of my class when they left college, 
or of any college class that I have since known. * * * 

Th3 simple truth is: Taste is of the feelings; and we have been trying to make it a thing 
of the intellect, of reason. Polite literature appeals to taste and must be spiritually discerned 
and appreciated." (35) 

Literature is, moreover, the highest form of art. The aim of art is to 
convey an emotion from one soul to another. 

Tolstoi's definition of art is as follows: 

"Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain 
external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that other people are infected 
by these feelings, and also experience them. 

Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty, 
or God; * * * but it is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, 
and indispensible for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and humanity. * * * 
The estimations of the value of art (i. e., of the feelings it transmits) depends on men's perception 
of the meaning of life." (44) 



(35) Sherman in Educational Review, pp. 42-56. 
(44) Tolstoi, pp. 43-45. 



79 



He further says: 

"Acording to Burke (1729-1792 — 'Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of 
the Sublime and Beautiful'), the sublime and beautiful, which are the aim of art, have their origin 
in the promptings of self-preservation and society. These feelings, examined in- their source, 
are means for the maintenance of the race through the individual. The first (self-preservation) 
is attained by nourishment, defense, and war; the second (society) by intercourse and propaga- 
tion. Therefore self-defense, and war, which is bound up with it, is the source of the sublime; 
ociability, and the sex-instinct, which is bound up with it, is the source of beauty." (44) 

Longinus writes that there are five different sources of lofty style which 
are the most productive, the power of expression being a foundation common 
to all five types, and inseparable from them. He informs us as follows: 

"First and most potent is the faculty of grasping great conceptions, as I have defined it in 
my work on Xenophon. Second comes passion, strong and impetuous. These two constituents 
of sublimity are in most cases native-born, those which now follow come through art: the proper 
halnding of figures, which again seem to fall under two heads, figures of thought, and figures of 
diction; then noble phraseology, with subdivisions, choice of words, and use of tropes, and of 
elaboration; and fifthly, that cause of greatness which includes in itself all that preceded it, 
dignified and spirited composition." (21) 

Gayley in his "Literary Criticism" gives the following excerpts: 
1 Longinus, Dionysus — On the Sublime — "The chief value of this treatise is that it shows 
us how the classic literature appealed to the literary sense of the ancients." 

2. Herbert Spencer: Essay on Philosophy on Style: 

"One of the most important of modern contributions to the theory of style. Spencer 
attempts to explain the effect of both prose and poetry upon the principle that the language is 
most forcible which best economizes the mental energies and the mental sensibilities." (14) 

And again in his Classic Myths he says: 

"That the study of the classic myths stimulates to creative production, prepares for the 
appreciation of poetry and other kinds of art, and furnishes a clue to the spiritual development 
of the race. 

1. Classic mythology has been for succeeding poetry, sculpture, and painting, a treasure 
house replete with golden tales and glimmering thoughts, passions in the rough and smooth, 
and fancies rich bejewelled. 

2. For the reader the study of mythology does much for a poet, sculptor, or painter. It 
assists him to thread the labyrinth of art, not merely with the clew of tradition, but with a thread 
of surer knowledge whose surest strand is sympathy. * * * 

The knowledge of mythic lore has led men in the past to broadly appreciate the motives 
and conditions of ancient art and literature, and the uniform and ordered evolution of the aesthetic 
sense. And, besides enriching us with heirlooms of fiction and pointing us to the sources of 
imaginative joy from which early poets of Hellenic verse or Norse, or English, drank, the classic 
myths quicken the imaginative and emotional faculties to-day, just as of old. * * * The study, 
when illustrated by master pieces of literature and art, should lead to the appreciation of concrete 
artistic productions of both kinds. * * * 

Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that the myths of the ancients, as the earliest literary 
crystallization of social order and religious fear, record the incipient history of religious ideals 
and moral conduct. For though ethnologists may insist that to search for truth in mythology 
is vain, the best of them will grant that to search for truth through mythology is wise and profitable. 

The term classic, however, is, of course, not restricted to the products of Greece and Rome; 
nor, is it employed as synonymous with classical or as antithetical to Romantic. From the 
extreme Classical to the extreme Romantic is a far cry; but as human life knows no divorce of 



(44) Tolstoi, p. 19. 
(21) Longinus, p. 13. 
(14) Gayley, pp. 222-228. 



necessity from freedom, so genuine art knows neither an unrelieved Classical nor an unrestrained 
Romantic. Classical and Romantic are relative terms. The Classical and the Romantic of one 
generation may merit equally to be the classic of the next." (15) 

Closely associated with the word "classic" is the word "culture" both 
of which include, we may say, the element of refinement. What is culture? 
Matthew Arnold in his essay on Culture and Anarchy says: 

"The scope of the essay is to recommend culture as the great help out of our present 
difficulties; culture being a pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, in all the 
matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world; and 
through this knowledge, turning a stream of fresh and free thought upon our stock notions and 
habits, which we now follow stanchly but mechanically, vainly imagining that there is virtue in 
following them stanchly which makes up for the mischief of following them mechanically. 

Certainly we are no enemies of the Nonconformists; tor, on the contrary, what we aim at 
is their perfection. But culture which is the study of perfection, ( — p. XIII) leads us, as we in 
the following pages have shown, to conceive of true human perfection as a harmonious perfection, 
developing all sides of our humanity; and as a general perfection, developing all parts of our 
society. 

Culture then is properly described not as having its origin in curiosity, but as having its 
origin in the love of perfections; it is a study of perfection. It moves by the force, not merely 
or primarily of the scientific passion for mere knowledge, but also of the normal and social passion 
for doing good. As in the first view of it, we took for its worthy motto Montesquien's words: 'To 
render an intelligent being yet more worthy', so, in the second view of it, there is no better motto 
which it can have than these words of Bishop Wilson: 'To make reason and the will of God 
prevail." (2) 

While culture may cause us "to conceive of true human perfection as a 
harmonious perfection, developing all sides of our humanity", yet we have the 
practical or knowledge-getting side to think of in the development of all parts 
of our society — a correlation of the two is essential in order to develop a well- 
rounded person. Among the "Courses of Study in Enghsh" which were sent 
in reply to Questionnaire "A" one — an Academic-Normal Course in a Tech- 
nical School — showed that there was an attempt at the correlation of the 
development of the sensibilities and of the knowledge-getting side of Hfe. 
This Hampton Institute "Course of Study" says: "The Trade School and 
Agricultural Department furnish lists of subjects suggested by their work, 
and these give an endless variety of topics for short oral exposition". (For 
Course of Study in Enghsh for this school see Part II, Existing Conditions.) 

Summary: The purpose which the teacher of English has in mind, 
primarily, is to instruct the pupils to read with understanding, to speak cor- 
rectly, to write correctly, to develop the sensibiUties of the pupil and to 
promote his information or knowledge-getting powers. In order to do this 
the English teacher must note the material changes. that overtake the pupil 
during the junior and senior stage of high school work and form and exalt 
the new sex-consciousness by noble literature that presents healthy types of 
womanhood and manhood. Teachers of English must deal with the senti- 
ments as well as with the understanding through use of literature. Literature 
is efficient in developing the feelings of youth if properly administered. The 
mere mechanical pronunciation of words as an end in itself will not make the 
pupil proficient, but he must learn to read in such a way as to recreate in 



(15) Gayley, pp. XXXI-XXXIII; 7 
(2) Arnold, pp. X-XIII; 7. 

81 



his own consciousness and in his hearer's consciousness the essential concepts 
and the essential emotions which dictated the author's writing. Words must 
be made vital that sentences, paragraphs and the whole composition may 
be transfused with the beauty and strength of imagination. 

During the adolescent period, Form begins to come into its own independ- 
ent rights. The eye, which in most persons is the sense nearest the mind is 
the seat of the sense of color, light and shade and form. Of these the color- 
sense seems to appeal most to the sentiments. While in the preadolescent 
stage the pupil sees light and shade best, the pupil in the adolescent stage far 
excels the preadolescent in response to colors about him. The blue sky, the 
blossoms, the green fields, etc., now inspire a new feeling. Colors have a 
suggestive meaning and symbolic power, crimson suggests blood, yellow- 
suggests gold, and there is now felt both a new aesthetic pleasure and a new 
aesthetic pain in the contrast and harmony of color. The pupil should be 
given an opportunity to express in words the music and poetry of his soul. 
In this crude stage of self-expression we have the so-called Verse Writing. 
Reading and memorizing poetry will serve to develop the natural instinct 
for rhythm and euphony. Life affords a splendid array of subjects for this 
work such as the falling of leaves, trees swaying in the wind, snow-storms, etc. 

In a highly complex system the individual child is apt to be lost in the 
midst of machinery. The remedy is individual promotion — as now used in 
junior high schools — at reasonably frequent intervals, on the basis of single 
subjects instead of by grade, or groups of subjects. As education is a prepara- 
tion for completer living, it must include usefulness and happiness. For this 
reason, it should equip a pupil for a vocation, and also furnish him means 
for the enjoyment of the refined pleasures of life. 

While many of these pupils come from homes of no great intelligence, 
we should give them, as their right, not only somewhat the practical things 
of life, but arouse in them the desire for the things of culture also. Their 
possibilities of enjoyment outside of their occupational hours should not be 
denied them. The demand, in this age is great for a liberal education as well 
as for a vocational one, and vice versa. We want good intelligent citizens 
as well as good workmen. We should aim to inspire them to obtain a good 
education and good training that they may become good citizens. 

To accomplish this a pupil, at the beginning of his senior high school 
course, should have clearly in mind a general high school aim — Vocational 
Education, General Education or College Preparation. To attain these aims 
the High School Program of courses may present six groups of courses, a 
Required Group and five Elective Groups. He must decide which of the 
five Elective Groups — Academic, Professional, Commercial, Agricultural or 
Technical Arts — will best help him to realize his school aim. The Required 
Group should consist of English, Physical Education, and Chorus or Orchestra 
training. In addition to this he must take the required subjects and the 
necessary elective subjects in the chosen Elective Group. The Prevocational 
and Junior High School Course may present five groups of courses, a Required 
Group and four Elective Groups. The pupil must decide which of the four 

82 



Elective Groups — Academic, Commercial, Agricultural or Industrial Arts* will 
best help him to realize his school aim. The Required Group should consist 
of English, history, geography, sewing and cooking for girls, and manual 
training or shop work for boys. Physical Education and Chorus or Orchestra 
practice. In addition to these he must take the required subjects and the 
necessary Elective subjects in the chosen Elective Group. 

The suggestive "Course of Study" in English is meant to be flexible 
and is open to modifications according to the needs of the school. (It is 
outlined in the next division of this thesis.) 



♦This term varies. 



83 



Part IV. 
COURSE OF STUDY IN ENGLISH. 



COURSE OF STUDY IN ENGLISH FOR HIGH SCHOOLS 
I. Prevocational and Junior High Schools 

Grade VII-B. First Year, First Semester English I. 



I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and Written. 

(1) Paragraph Themes: (One a week.) (a) Narra- 
tion; (b) Description; (c) Exposition; 
(d) Argumentation. 

(2) Long Composition, or theme. (One a month.) 

(3) Letter-writing: (a) Social letters; (b) Business 
letters. 

(4) Verse-writing. 

(5) Book Reports. Book Reviews. 

(6) Development of Topic Sentences. 

(7) Old-time Tales, Oral reproduction : (Select one.) 

(a) Longfellow: Bell of Atri; (b) Arnold: Death 
of Balder. 

(8) • Historical Tales, Oral reproduction: (Select 

one.) (a) Famous Tales from Other Lands; 

(b) Stories of Our Country. 

(9) Stories and story-telling, Oral reproduction: 
(Select one.) (a) Grandmother and Grandfather 
Stories, (b) Fireside Stories Retold. 

(10) Biographical Sketches. 

(11) Practical use of books and libraries. 

(a) The book, its parts, its care. 

(b) The Dictionary. 

(c) The Encyclopedia. 

2. Sources of Material. 

a. Personal experience. 

b. Observation. 

c. Stories and poems close to child-life. 

d. Literature, history, geography. 

e. Manual Training and Domestic Science. 

f. Suggestive questions. 

g. Suggestive topics. 

h. Pictures suggestive of the child's experience, 
i. Vocational Guidance Material. 

B. Technical English. 

1. Study Material. 

a. Applied study of material. 
(1) Sentence Structure. 
87 



(2) Paragraph Structure. 

b. Parts of Speech Vitalized. 

(1) Teach the: Noun as the type combining element. 
Adjective as the type modifying element. Verb 
as the type asserting element. 

(2) Train the child to: Keep his pronouns clear and 
choose right forms. Keep clear his correlatives. 
Use carefully the subordinate conjunctions. 

c. Correction of errors in speech. 

d. Detailed study of the noun. 

e. Parsing, analysis, diagram. 

II. Literature. 

A. General Literature. 

1. Study Material. (Select one from each group.) 

a. Poetry. 

(1) Hemans: Landing of the Pilgrims. 

(2) Bryant: The Forest Hymn. 

(3) Whittier: New Year. 

b. Fiction. 

(1) Mark Twain: The Pony Rider. 

(2) Stevenson: Treasure Island. 

(3) Irving: Rip Van Winkle. 

c. Plays. 

(1) King Robert of Sicily. 

d. Dramatization. 

(1) Dickens: Christmas Carols. 

(2) Longfellow: Courtship of Miles Standish. 

e. Classic,. Northern and Medieval Myths as: (Select as 
needed.) 

(1) Baldwin: Hero Tales Told in School; The 
Golden Fleece; Story of Siegfried; Stories of 
Roland; Stories of the King. 

(2) Barker: Stories of Old Greece and Rome. 

(3) Gayley: Classical Myths. (Selected.) 

(4) Hutchinson: Golden Porch. (Selected.) 

(5) Mabie: Norse Stories. 

2. Memorizing. 

a. Prose, (Select one from each group.) 

(1) Dickens: Selections from Pickwick Papers. 

(2) Lincoln: Gettysburg Address. 

b. Poetry. 

(1) Bryant: Death of the Flowers. 

(2) Lowell: Youssouf. 

(3) Van Dyke: Ruby Crowned Kinglet. 



3. Quotations. 

a. Prose. (Selected.) 

b. Poetry. (Selected.) 

4. Required Reading. 

a. Dickens: Christmas Carol. 

b. Longfellow: Courtship of Miles Standish. 

c. Whittier: Snow Bound. 

5. Suggested list for telling or reading by teacher. 

Antin: The Promised Land. 

Fox: Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. 

Edgar: Stories from Morris. 

Hugo: Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. 

Mitchell: The death of Major Andre from "Hugh 

Wynne". 

Martineau: Peasant and Prince. 

Washington: Up from Slavery. 

6. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (Each pupil make 
an oral report on any one book from outline prepared by 
teacher.) 

a. Prose. 

Alcott: Little Women; Little Men. 

Aldrich: Story of a Bad Boy. 

Anonymous: Arabian Nights. 

Baldwin: Story of Siegfried. 

Beale: Stories from the Old Testament. 

Brooks: Boy Emigrants. 

Brown: Rab and His Friends. 

Barrier Peter and Wendy. 

Dickens: Old Curiosity Shop or Cricket on the Hearth. 

Dodge: Hans Brinker. 

Duncan: Story of Sonny Sahib. 

Finch: Nathan Hale. 

Field: Christmas Tree and Christmas Verse. 

Eggleston: Hoosier Schoolmaster. 

Grimm: Fairy Tales. 

Hawthorne: Tanglewood Tales. 

Jewett: Betty Leicester. 

Kingsley: Heroes. 

KipHng: Just So Stories. 

Lamb: Adventures of Ulysses. 

La Ramee: Dog of Flanders. 

Liljencrantz: Thrall of Lief the Lucky. 

Macleod: Book of King Arthur. 

Page: Two Little Confederates. 

Pyle: Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. 

Roberts: Red Fox. 

Spyri: Heidi. 



89 



Stevenson: Will 'o the Mill (in The Merry Men). 
Trowbridge: Cudjo's Cave. ; 

Wright: The Gray Lady and the Birds. ■ 

b. Poetry. j 

Bryant: A Forest Hymn; Hymn to North Star; The | 

White-Footed Deer. 

Gary: Order for a Picture. j 

Gheney: The Happiest Heart. * 

Finch: The Blue and the Gray. 
Harte: What the Ghimney Sang. 
Hemans: Gasabianca. 
Holmes: One Horse Shay. 
Howe: Battle Hymn of the Republic. 
Kingsley: The Three Fishers. 

Longfellow: The Psalm of Life; Paul Revere's Ride. j 

Lowell: The First Snowfall. | 

Norton: Soldiers of Bingen. 
Riley: The Name of Old Glory. 
Scott: Lochinvar. 
Sill: Opportunity. 
Tennyson: Sir Galahad. 

B. Vocational Literature: Select one book for each pupil. (Each 
pupil after reading a book will give an oral report of it from his 
oion skeleton outline.) 

1. Required Reading. 

a. Adams: Harper's Indoor Books for Boys. 

b. Hall: Stories of Invention. 

c. Paret: Harper's Handy Book for Girls. 

C. Supplementary Reading— Home Reading: (Each pupil make 
oral report on any one book from his own skeleton outline.) This list 
furnishes material for Vocational Guidance, etc. 

Andrews: The Perfect Tribute. 

Bolton: Lives of Girls Who Became Famous. 

Keller: Story of My Life. 

FrankUn : Autobiography. 

Mabie: Heroes Every Child Should Know. 

Thayer: Men Who Win. 



Grade VII-A. First Year, Second Semester. English II 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 
L Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and written. 

(1) Short themes — Paragraph theme. (One a week.) 
Narration; Description; Exposition; Argumenta- 

90 



tion — Paragraph on each side of the question by 
different pupils. 

(2) Long themes or compositions. (One a month.) 

(3) Historical Tales — Oral reproduction: (a) Stories 
from the Masters; (b) Everyday Studies: 
(1) Franklin: Turning the Grindstone; (2) Irving: 
The Captain's Tale. 

(4) Letter-writing. 

(5) Verse-writing. 

(6) Developing the pupil's vocabulary through 
experience. 

2. Sources of Material. 

a. Personal experience. 

b. Observation. 

c. Stories and poems close to child-life. 

d. Literature, history, geography. 

f. Suggestive questions. 

g. Suggestive topics, etc. 

3. Reading or telling of stories by teacher. (Selected.) 

B. Technical English. 
1. Study Material. 

a. Applied study of material. 

b. Review paragraph structure. 

c. Review sentence structure. 

d. Corrections of errors in speech. 

e. Detailed study of pronoun, adjective, adverb. 

f. Phrases. 

g. Parsing, analysis, diagram. 

II. Literature. 

A. General Literature. 

1. Study Material. (Select one from each group.) 

a. Poetry. 

(1) Longfellow: Tales of a Wayside Inn. (Selected.) 

(2) Whittier: Snow Bound. 

b. Fiction. 

(1) Hawthorne: The Great Stone Face. 

(2) Irving: Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

(3) Kipling: The Jungle Book. 

c. Dramatization. 

Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

d. Memorizing. 

(1) Poetry: Holland: God Give us Men; Emerson: 
The Snow; Longfellow: The Children's Hour; 
Carlyle: To-day. 

(2) Prose. (Selected.) 

91 



3. Quotations or Literary Gems. 

(1) Prose. (Selected.) 

(2) Poetry. (Selected.) 

4. Reading or telling stories by teacher. (To be selected.) 

5. Required Reading. 
Dickens: David Copperfield. 

Kipling: Captains Courageous; Jungle Books. 

6. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (Read and report 
on two additional books from Grade VII-B list.) 

Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 
1. Required Reading. 

Adams: Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys. 

Fowler: The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed. 

Baker: Boy's Book of Inventions. 
Supplementary Reading— Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

Bolton: Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous. 

Coe: Heroes of Everyday Life. 

Miller: Things that Endure. 

Stoddard: Men of Business. 

Williams: Some Successful Americans. 

Wilson: Making the Most of Ourselves. 



Grade VIII-B. Second Year, First Semester. English III. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 
1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and written. 

(1) Forms of discourse — narration, description, ex- 
position, argumentation: (a) Short themes — 
paragraph themes (one each week); (b) Long 
themes (one each month); (c) Letter-writing; 
(d) Notes of invitation; (e) Applications for 
positions; (f) Review social and business letters. 

(2) Verse-writing. 

(3) Topics: (a) Simple exposition on local and civil 
questions; (b) Descriptive themes or imaginary 
journeys; (c) Themes on characters admired by 
pupils; (d) Imaginary conversations between 
historical characters; (e) Description of work in 
other classes. 

(4) Sources of material based upon: (a) Topics 
from recreation; (b) Work in school and out; 
(c) Observation of processes, scenes, objects, 
occupations; (d) Books; (e) Imagination. 

92 



B. Technical English. 





1. 


Word-building and Derivation. 

a. Prefixes and suffixes. 

b. Latin and Greek roots. 

c. Synonyms and homonyms. 




2. 


Spelling of words used. 




3. 


Necessary punctuation. 




4. 


Sentences. 




5. 


Clauses. 




6. 


Conjunctions and prepositions. 




7. 


Detailed study of verb. 




8. 


Mechanics of oral expression. 

a. Breathing. 

b. Vocahzation. 

c. Postures and gestures. 

d. Phonetics. 




9. 


Activities in oral expression. 

a. Vocalization in unison. 

b. Vowel practice. 

c. Articulation practice. 

d. The speech defects of individuals. 

e. Oral Reading for proper grouping of words, etc. 

f. Memorizing appropriate selections in prose and poetry. 

g. Oral composition. 


II. 


Literature. 



A. General Literature. 

1. Study material. (Select one from each group.) 

a. Poetry: (American Anthology.) 
Bryant: To a Waterfowl. 
Lanier: Chattahoochee. 

Riley: Green Fields and Running Brooks; The Old 
Swimming Hole; Knee-deep in June. 
Field: Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse; A 
Little Book of Western Verse, Book II; A Little Book 
of Profitable Tales. 

b. Fiction. 

Irving: Sketch Book. 

Hale: A Man Without a Country. 

Sweetser: Ten Boys and Girls from Dickens. 

c. Dramatizing. 
Merchant of Venice. 

d. Memorizing. 

Prose and Poetry. (Selected.) 

2. Reading or telling of stories by teacher. (Selected.) 

3. Required Reading. 

Andrews: The Perfect Tribute. (Lincoln.) 

93- 



London: The Call of the Wild. 
Montgomery: Anne of Green Gables. 
Warner: A Hunting of a Bear. 
4. Supplementary Reading. Home Reading. Read one book 
in list and give oral report from pupil's own outline. 
BuUen: The Cruise of the Cachalot. 
Burnett: The Secret Garden. 
Clemens: Prince and Pauper. 
Cooper: The Deerslayer; The Pilot. 
Davis: Stories for Boys. 

De Amicis: An Italian School Boy's Journal. (Cuore.) 
Dix: Soldier Rigdale. 
Doubleday: Stories of Invention. 
Doyle: Micah Clarke. 
Duncan: Adventures of Billy Topsail. 
Eastman: Indian Boyhood. 
Eggleston: Hoosier Schoolmaster. 
Fouque: Undine. 
Hale: A New England Boyhood. 
Halsey: The Old New York Frontier. 
King: Cadet Boys. 
Lang: The Book of Romance. 
Larcom: New England Girlhood. 

Laurie: School Days in Italy; School Days in France. 
Liljencrantz: The Thrall of Lief, the Lucky. 
Lincoln: A Pretty Tory. 
Montgomery: Anne of Avonlea. 
Morris: The Sundering Flood. 

Parkman: Montcalm and Wolfe; Conspiracy of Pontiac. 
Pyle: The Story of King Arthur. 

Rice: The Champions of the Round Table; Sir Launce- 
lot and His Companions; Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage 
Patch. 

Scott: The Talisman. 
Sharp: A Watcher in the Woods. 
Warner: Being a Boy. 

B. Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 

1. Required Reading: 

a. Fowler: How to Get and Keep a Job, 

b. VanderHp: Business and Education. 

c. Verrill: Harper's Book for Young NaturaHsts. 

C. Supplementary Reading. Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

1. Bloomfield: Vocational Guidance. 

2. Drysdale: Helps for Ambitious Boys. 

3. Grinnell and Swan: Harper's Camping and Scouting. 

4. Judson: Higher Education as a Training for Business. 

5. Marsden: The Young Man Entering Business. 

6. Verrill: Harper's Book for Young Gardeners. 



Grade VIII-A. Second Year, Second Semester. English IV. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Compositions — Oral and written. 

(1) Narration, description, exposition, argumenta- 
tion, (a) Short themes — paragraph themes (one 
•a week); (b) Long themes (one each month); 

(c) Letter-writing: Notes of invitation; Ap- 
plications for positions; (d) Verse-writing. 

(2) Topics: Simple arguments on school topics; 
How to make things; How to find things or go 
to various places; How various contrivances 
work; Accounts of visits to factories and 
museums. The aims are: Keep to the point; 
Be courteous; Clearness of expression; Close 
observation. 

(3) Sources of material: Personal experience; Ob- 
servation; Literature, geography, history, etc.; 
Manual Training and Household Arts, Science; 
Pictures; Characters in book — Outside of book; 
Topic sentences; Select sentences in a written 
theme, etc. 

B. Technical English. 

Review — 

Essential elements of a sentence. 

Clauses. 

Inflection of five of the eight parts of speech. 

Spelling of words used. 

Necessary punctuation. 

Parsing, analysis, diagraming. 

Word study. 

Study of Types. 

Memorizing. 

Conversation groups (in Grades VII, VIII, IX). 

Extemporaneous Speech. 

Formal Address or Oration (not in detail). 

National and state holidays. 

Birthdays of poets and famous men. 

Special occasions, etc. 
Mechanics of oral expression. (See Grade VIII-B.) 
Activities in oral expression. 

For general scope of the work see Grade VIII-B. 



95 



II. Literature. 

A. General Literature. 

1. Study material (select one from each group). 

a. Poetry. 

Holmes: Old Ironsides, Last Leaf, My Aunt, Height 
of Ridiculous, The Boys, Contentment, Chambered 
Nautilus, Broomstick Train, Dorothy Que, One 
Horse Shay, Spectre Pig, Oysterman. 
Whittier: Snow Bound. (Selected.) 
Longfellow: Evangehne. 

b. Fiction: 

Macaulay: Horatius. 

De Amicis: Sardinian Drummer Boy. (Appeals.) 
Kipling: Captains Courageous. (Types of form, 
color, sound, motion, smell.) 

c. Dramatization. 

Julius Caesar. 
Merchant of Venice. 

2. Reading or telling of stories by teacher. (Selected.) 

3. Required Reading. 

a. Wiggin: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. 

b. Cooper: Last of the Mohicans. 

c. Kipling: Kidnapped. 

d. Sweetser: Ten Boys and Girls from Thackeray. 

4. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (Read and report 
on two other books from Grade VIII-B list.) 

B. Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 

1. Required Reading. 

a. Adams: Harper's Electricity Books for Boys. 

b. Munn and Company: Trade Marks. Trade Names. 

c. Wooley: Addison Brandhurst. 

C. Supplementary Reading— Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

Bryce: The Hindrance to Good Citizenship. 

Call: Everyday Living. 

Hubbard: A Message to Garcia. 

Kelland: Mark Tidd in the Back Woods. 

Matthews: Getting On in the World. 

Stockwell: Essential Elements of Business Character. 



Grade IX-B. Third Year, Second Semester. English V. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 
1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and written. 

(1) Forms of discourse: Narration, description, 
exposition, argumentation: (a) Short themes — 

96 



paragraph themes (one a week); (b) Long themes 
(one a month); (c) Letter-writing (attention to 
substance as well as to form); (d) Verse-writing. 

(2) Topics: (a) Composition: Definition; (b) Letter- 
writing: Excuses for Absence, Excuses for 
Tardiness; (c) Letters of Friendship; (d) Letters 
of Invitation; (e) Order Letters; (f) Letters of 
Application. 

(3) Sources of Material: Observation; Experience; 
Books, Current Magazines; Imagination. 

B. Technical English. 

1. Review of capitalization and necessary punctuation. 

2. Diagraming, parsing, analysis. 

3. Sherman and Blaisdell Texts: 

a. Sherman's Elements of Literature and Composition. 

(1) Words: Chapters I-V. 

(2) Phrases: Chapters IX-X. 

(3) Types: Chapters VI-VII-VIII. 

(4) Appeals: Chapters XIV-XVII-XVIII. 

4. Canby and Opdyke: Elements of Composition. 

a. Composition: Chapter I. 

b. Shaping the Material: Chapter II. 

c. The Sentence: Chapter III. 

d. Capitalization: Part III, section III. 

e. Punctuation: Part III, section IV. 

5. Oral English. (Oral interpretation.) 

a. Poetry. 

Longfellow: The Builders. 

Holmes: The Boys. 

Scott: Breathes There a Man. 

Wordsworth: Daffodils; Cavalier Tunes. 

Hunt: Abou Ben Adhem. 

b. Activity in oral expression. (See Grade VIII-B.) 

II. Literature. 

. A, General Literature. 

1. Study Material. (Select one from each group.) 

a. Poetry. 

Whitman: My Captain. 

Keats: On First Looking into Chapman's Homer. 

Scott: Lady of the Lake. 

b. Short Stories. 

Hale: The Man Without a^ Country. 
Brown: Farmer Eli's Vacation. 
Davis: Gallegher. 

c. Other Fiction. 

Blackmore: Lorna Doone. 

97 






Poe: Prose Tales. 
Scott: Ivanhoe. 

d. Drama. 

Shakespeare: Julius Caesar; A Midsummer Night's 
Dream. 

e. Dramatization, 

Any good Stock or Academic play. 

2. Required Reading. 

Dickens: David Copperfield. 
Kingsley: Westward Ho. 
Kipling: Kim. 

3. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (Oral report on 
two books from pupil's own skeleton outline.) 

a. Fiction. 

Anonymous: Arabian Nights. 

Carroll: Alice in Wonderland. 

Clemens: Huckleberry Finn; Tom Sawyer. 

Cooper: Any novel. 

Crane: The Red Badge of Courage. 

Defoe: Robinson Crusoe. 

Dickens: Christmas Stories; Great Expectations; 

Nicholas Nickleby; Old Curiosity Shop; Oliver 

Twist. 

Doyle: Sherlock Holmes; The White Company. 

Harris: Uncle Remus. j 

Hawthorne: Twice Told Tales. 

Hughes: Tom Brown's School Days. 

Irving: Sketch Book; The Tales of a Traveler. 

Kipling: Captains Courageous; Jungle Books. ; 

Lamb: Tales from Shakespeare. j 

London: Call of the Wild. r 

Lytton: The Last Days of Pompeii. ; 

Martin: Emmy Lou. 

Ollivant: Bob, Son of Battle. \ 

Ouida: The Dog of Flanders. ' 

Poe: The Gold Bug. 

Porter: Freckles. ■ 

Pyle: Robin Hood. i 

Scott: Abbot. ' 

Seton: Lives of the Hunted; The Trail of the 

Sandhill Stag. 

Stevenson: David Balfour; Treasure Island. 

Swift: Gulliver's Travels. 

Verne: Mysterious Island Series; Round the World 

in 80 Days. 

b. Drama: 

Maeterlinck: The Blue Bird. 

98 



Shakespeare: As You Lik« It; Henry IV; Henry V; 
Julius Caesar; King Lear; Macbeth; Merchant of 
Venice; Midsummer Night's Dream; Tempest. 

c. Poetry: 

Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 
Homer: The Iliad; The Odyssey. 
Longfellow: Collected Poems. 
Macaulay: Lays of Ancient Rome. 
Stevenson: A Child's Garden of Verse. 
Whittier: Poema. 

d. Biography: 

Flynt: Tramping With Tramps. 

e. Adventure: 

Seton-Thompson: Wild Animals I Have Known. 

B. Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 

1. Required Reading. 

a. Onkin and Baker: Harper's How to Understand Elec- 
trical Work. 

b. Parsons: Choosing a Vocation. 

c. Perkins: Vocations for Trained Women. 

C. Supplementary Reading. Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

Manson: Ready for Business. 

Munsterberg: The Choice of a Vocation. 

Parsons: Choosing a Vocation. 

Weaver: Vocations for Girls. 

Wingale: What Shall Our Boys Do for a Living? 

Hunt: The Young Farmer and Things He Should Know. 



Grade IX-A. Third Year, Second Semester. English VI. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and written. 

(1) Short themes— paragraph themes (one a week.) 

(2) Long themes— Exposition (one a month.) 

(3) Social Letters. 

(4) Topics. (See Grade IX-B.) 

(5) Sources of Material. (See Grade VIII-A.) 

2. Memorizing. (Oral English. Select two.) 

Longfellow: Psalm of Life. 
Whittier: Snow Bound. (Selected.) 
Holmes: Old Ironsides. 
Pee: The Raven. 
Whitman: My Captain. 

3. Verse-writing. 

99 



4. Practical use of books and libraries.* 

a. Card catalogues: 

(1) Author catalogue. 

(2) Subject catalogue. 

(3) Numbering and arrangement of books. 

(4) Dewey decimal system, author, numbers. 

b. Reference Librarian — Reference Room. 

c. Reserve Desk. 

d. Stack Room. 

e. Loan Desk. 
B. Technical English. 

1. Review Word-structure. 

2. Necessary spelling. 

3. Sherman and Blaisdell Texts: 

a. Sherman's Elements: 

(1) Description and Narration. Chapter XXX. 

(2) Word appeals, types, forces. Chapters I, VIII, 
XIV, XVI. 

(3) Review Phrases. Chapters IX, X. 

(4) Review Figures. Chapters XI, XIII. 

b. Blaisdell's Rhetoric. Chapters I-IV. 

c. Canby and Opdyke: Elements of Composition. 

(1) Description. Chapter IX. 

(2) The Sentence. Chapter III. (Especially unity, 
coherence and emphasis in the sentence.) 

(3) The Paragraph. Chapter IV. 

(4) Letter-writing. Part III, section I. 
II. Literature. 

A. • General Literature. 
1. Study Material. 

a. Poetry. 

Browning: Herve Riel. 
Scott: Lady of the Lake. 
Shelly: To a Skylark. 
Emerson: Concord Hymn. 
" Garland: The Wind in the Pines. 

b. Short Stories. 

Hawthorne: Ambitious Guest. 
0. Henry: The Chaparral Prince. 
Hale: Man without a Country. 
Poe: Purloined Letter. 

c. Other Fiction. 

Eliot: Silas Marner. 

Wallace: Ben Hur. 

Maclaren: Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. 



*See Hall-Quest's Supervised Study, pp. 174, 175. 
100 



2. Required Reading. 

Reader The Cloister and the Hearth. 

Stevenson: Treasure Island. 

Chaplin: Five Hundred Dollars and Other New England 

Stories. 

Parkman: Oregon Trail. 

3. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (Oral Report on 
two additional books from Grade IX-B list.) 

B. Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 

1. Required Reading. 

Burns: The Story of our Great Inventions. 
Davis: Motor-Boating for Boys. 
Fowler: How to Get Your Pay Raised. 

C. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

Munsterberg: The Choice of a Profession. 

Fiske: Choosing a Life Work. 

Fowler: Starting in Life. 

Kelland: Mark Tidd in Business. 

Sweetser: Ten Great Adventures; Book of Indian Braves. 



II. SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. 

Grade X-B. Fourth Year, First Semester. English VII. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and written. 

(1) Forms of discourse: Narration, description, 
exposition, argumentation; Short themes — para- 
graph themes (one each week); Long themes 
(one each month); Book Reports, Book Reviews, 
News stories. Editorials, etc. 

(2) Topics: The Organization of the Modern News- 
paper; The Art of Reporting; Proof-reading; 
Revision of Manuscript; Biographical Notices; 
Reporting Accidents; Constructive and De- 
structive Journalism; Contracts; Advertisement 
Writing; Book Reviews; Reporting Games, 
Speeches; Dramatic Notices; Interviews; Con- 
crete Exposition; Exposition of Ideas; Con- 
structive Editorials; Argumentative Editorials. 

2. Sources of Material. 

a. Reading of: 

(1) Books, papers. Current Magazines — Literary 
Digest, Review of Reviews, etc. 

101 



B. Technical English. 
1. Study material. 

a. Development and intensification of the preceding year. 

b. Classification of sentences (rhetorically). 

c. Sherman, Blaisdell, Baldwin, Canby and Opdyke Texts: 

(1) Sherman (for study of Lancelot and Elaine): 
Chapters I-VIII, XIV-XXI; Questions, pp. 
151-153, 162-164, 175-177, 184-187. 

(2) Blaisdell: (a) Word meanings. Chapter VII; 

(b) Atmosphere, Chapter XVI; (c) Book 
Reviews, Chapter XV; (d) Descriptions, Chapter 
XIII; (e) Figures of Speech, Chapter XXIV; 
(f) Rhetorical principles of: Unity, coherence, 
emphasis. Chapter XXII. 

(3) Canby and Opdyke: Elements of Composition 
for Secondary Schools: (a) Narration, Chapter 
X; (b) Description (review). Chapter IX; 

(c) The Paragraph (especially unity, coherence, 
emphasis in the Paragraph), Chapter IV. 

II. Literature. 

A. General Literature. 

1. Study Material. (Select one from each group.) 

a. Poetry. 

Burns: Bannockburn. 

Keats: The Eve of St. Agnus. 

Tennyson: Enoch Arden; Lancelot and Elaine. 

b. Fiction. 

Wallace: Ben Hur. 

Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice. 

Maclaren: Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. 

c. Drama. 

Goldsmith: She Stoops to Conquer (read and tell the 

story). 

Selected: Speech on Citizenship. 

2. Required Reading. (Select one author.) 

Tennyson: Idylls of the King; Coming of Arthur; Gareth 
and Lynette; The Holy Grail; Passing of Arthur; The 
Lady of Shalott. 
Churchill: Richard Carvel. 

3. Dramas or Plays. 

Zangwill: The Melting Pot. 
Kenedy: The Servant in the House. 

4. Reading and Speaking. (Once a week.) 
* 5. Poems for Memorizing. 

Kipling: If. 

Shakespeare: All the World's a Stage. 

102 



Sill: This I Beheld or Dreamed It in a Dream. 
Browning: Incident of the French Camp. 

6. Required Reading. 

Dickens: David Copperfield. 
Barrie: Little Minister. 
Defoe: Robinson Crusoe. Part I. 
Clemens: Tom Sawyer. 

7. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (Oral report on 
two books from pupil's own skeleton outline.) 

a. Fiction. 

Bachelor: Dri and I. 

Blackmore: Lorna Doone. 

Churchill: Richard Carvel; The Crossing; The Crisis. 

Clemens: Joan of Arc. 

Connor: Glengarry School Days; Black Rock. 

Dickens: Pickwick Papers; A Tale of Two Cities. .. 

Dumas: The Count of Monte Cristo; The Three 

Guardsmen. 

Ford: Janice Meredith; The Hon. Peter Sterling. 

Fox: The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. 

Haggard: King Solomon's Mines. 

Lytton: The Last of the Barons; Rienzi. 

Maclaren: Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. 

Scott: Any Novelr 

Stevenson: Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde; The Black 

Arrow. 

Stockton: The Lady or the Tiger; Rudder Grange. 

White: Blazed Trail. 

Wister: The Virginian. 

b. Poetry. 

Arnold: Sohrab and Rustum. 

Goldsmith: The Deserted Village. 

Gray: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. 

Scott: The Lay of the Last Minstrel; Marmion; 

The Lady of the Lake. 

Tennyson: Enoch Arden; The Idylls of the King. 

c. 'Biography. 

Brady: Paul Jones. 

Macaulay: Biographical Essays. 

Nicolay: Boy's Life of Lincoln. 

Plutarch: Lives. 

Riis: The Making of an American. 

Schurz: Autobiography; Life of Lincoln. 

Southey: Life of Nelson. 

Washington: Up From Slavery. 



103 



d. History. 

Parkman: Montcalm and Wolfe; The Conspiracy 
of Pontiac. 

e. Travel. 

Clemens: Roughing It; Innocents Abroad. 
Dana: Two Years Before the Mast. 
Parkman: The Oregon Trail. 
Stevenson: An Indian Voyage. 

f. Miscellaneous. 

Harrison: Choice of Books. 
Holmes: Autocrat. 
Palmer: Self Cultivation in English. 
Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 
1. Required Reading. 

Fowler: Practical Salesmanship. 
Given: Making a Newspaper. 
Valentine: The Beginner in Poultry. 
Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 
Beverage: The Young Man and the World. 
Dana: The Art of Newspaper Making. 
Grayson: Adventures in Contentment. 
Hemstreet : Reporting for the Newspapers. 
Low: A Painter's Progress. 
Palmer: The Teacher. 



Grade X-A. Fifth Year, Second Semester. English VIII. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Composition: Oral and written. 

(1) Short themes: Paragraph writing (one a week), 

(2) Long themes (one a month). j 

(3) Conversation-writing. 1 

(4) Briefs and other outlines. } 

(5) Business letters and telegrams. ^ 

(6) Advertisements. 
7. Verse-writing. 

2. Source of Material. 

a. Experience. 

b. Observation. 

c. Reading: Books, Papers, Current Magazines. 

3. Topics. (See Grade X-B list.) 

B. Technical English. 

1. Study Material. (Select one group of books.) 

a. Sherman andBlaisdell Texts: \ 

104 



(1) Sherman: Elements of Literature and Composi- 
tion; Review of Character and Mood appeals, 
Chapters XIV-XVI; Study of Appeals of 
Incidents, Chapter XX; Study of tone, quality, 
metre, and rhyme, Chapters XXII, XXIV. 

(2) Blaisdell: (To be selected as needed.) 

Canby and Opdyke: Elements of Composition for 
Secondary Schools. 

(1) Exposition. Chapter VII. 

(2) Argumentation. Chapter VIII. 

(3) Grammatical Review. Part III, Sectioun VIII. 

(4) Sentence — manipulation. Clearness thro gh con- 
nectives; Correct placing of modifiers, etc. 

Supplementary books: 

(1) Palgrave: Golden Treasury. 

(2) Wooley: Handbook of Composition. 



II. Literature. 



A. General Literature. 

1. Study Material. 

a. Poetry. (Select one from each group.) 

Lowell: Vision of Sir Launfal. 
Tennyson: Enoch Arden. 
Coleridge: The Ancient Mariner. 
Arnold: Sohrab and Rustum. 

b. Fiction. 

Doyle: A Study in Scarlet. 
Blackmore: Lorna Doone. 
Dickens: Tale of Two Cities. 
Barrie: Little Minister. 

c. Plays. 

Maeterlinck: Blue Bird. 

Peabody: The Piper. ^ 

2. Required Reading. 

Scott: Kenilworth. 

Parkman: Oregon Trail. 

Thoreau: Walden. 

Scott: Lady of the Lake. Canto I. The Chase, 
d. Dramatization. 

a. Any Standard or Academic Play. 
4. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (See Grade X list.) 
B Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 
1. Required Reading. 

a. Harris: Joe, the Book Farmer. 

b. Shafer: Don Cameron — Every-Day Electricity. 

c. Verrill: Gasoline Engine Book. 



105 



C. Supplementary Reading— Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B. 

1. Hyde: Self-measurement. 

2. Bennett: How to Become an Author. (College.) 

3. Hodson: How to Become a Trained Nurse. 

4. Julian: Making a Journalist. 

5. Low: A Painter's Progress. 

6. Palmer: Why Go to College. 



Grade XI-B. Seventh Year, First Semester. English IX. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and written. 

(1) Paragraph writing. 

(2) Letter- writing. 

(3) Verse-writing. 

(4) Conversation writing. 

(5) Debates, Orations. 

(6) Exposition: (Outlines and themes.) 

(7) Practical use of book and libraries: (a) Reference 
books such as the: Atlas, Classical Dictionary, 
Year Book, Government Reports. 

2. Sources of Material. (Based, primarily, on Investigation and 
Study.) 

a. Lincoln Selections: 

The Two Inaugurals. (Models for orations.) 

Gettysburg Address. 

Last Public Address. 

Brief memoir or estimate of Lincoln. 

b. Holmes: Autocrat of Breakfast Table. (Assigned 
reading.) 

c. Andrews: The Perfect Tribute. 

d. Schurz: Abraham Lincoln. 

B. Technical English. 

1. Study Material. (Select one group.) . 
a. Sherman and Blaisdell Texts: 

(1) Sherman: Elements of Literature; Exposition, 
Chapter XXXI; Review of type forces and type 
qualities, Chapters VI-VIII; Review imaginative 
appeals, Chapters XVI-XXI; Review, Chap- 
ters I-VIII, XIV-XXI. 

(2) Blaisdell: Forms of Discourse, Rhetoric pages 
308-326; Book Reports, Rhetoric pp. 212-219. 

106 



(3) Canby and Opdyke: Elements of Composition 
for Secondary Schools; Argumentation, Chapter 
VIII; Exposition, Chapter VII; The Paragraph, 
Chapter IV; The Word, Chapter VI. 



II. Literature. 



A. General Literature. 

1. Study. (Material for class work): 

a. Poetry. (Select as needed.) 

(1) Browning: How They Brought the Good News; 
Rabbi Ben Ezra; Cavalier Tunes; The Lost 
Leader; Home Thoughts from Abroad; Home 
Thoughts from the Sea; Incident of the French 
Camp; Herve Riel; My Last Duchess; Up 
At a Villa; Down in the City; The Pied Piper. 

(2) Markham: The Man With the Hoe, and other 
poems. 

b. Fiction. 

Dickens: David Copperfield. 
Eliot: Mill on the Floss. 

c. Drama: 

Shakespeare: Macbeth (intensive study); She Stoops 
to Conquer. 

d. Speeches on Citizenship. (Selected.) 

e. Other prose from best Current Magazines. 

2. Poems for Memorizing. (Select two.) 

a. Kipling: When Earth's Last Picture Is Painted. 

b. Lowell: The Present Crisis. 

c. Milton: L' Allegro. 

d. Shakespeare: Hamlet's Soliloquy — "To be or not to be." 

e. Wordsworth: Resolution and Independence. 

3. Rapid Survey of English Authors as follows (Long's English 
Literature): Addison, Austen, Bacon, Browning, Carlyle, 
Chaucer, Dickens, Dryden, EUot, Goldsmith, Johnston, 
Kipling, Macaulay, Milton, Pope, Ruskin, Scott, Shakespeare, 
Spencer, Swift, Tennyson, Thackeray. 

4. Literary Periods. (Intensive rather than extensive.) 

5. American Literature. Study of American Authors. (Selected.) 

a. Texts: 

Halleck: American Literature. 

Newcomer: American Literature. 

Tappan: England's and America's Literature. 

6. Dramatization. (Selected.) 

7. Required Reading. (Select two.) 

Allen: Old King Solomon of Kentucky. 

Bunyan: Pilgrim's Progress. 

Cody: Selections from World's Greatest Short Stories. 



107 



Homer: Iliad (translated by Bryant or Pope); Odyssey 
(translated by Bryant, Pope, or Palmer). 
Jewett: Country Doctor. 

Shakespeare: Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night. 
8. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (To be used at 
the teacher's discretion.) 

a. Lyric Poetry. 

(1) Field: Little Book of Western Verse. (Book IL) 

(2) Riley: Old Fashioned Roses; Poems Here at 
Home. 

b. Essays. 

(1) Burroughs: Winter Sunshine; Signs and Seasons. 

(2) Crothers: Gentle Reader. 

c. Fiction. 

Austen: Pride and Prejudice. 

Barrie: The Little Minister; Sentimental Tommy. 

Bennett: Master Skylark. 

Black: Judith Shakespeare. 

Ebers: Egyptian Princess. 

Eliot: Silas Marner. 

G askell : C r anf ord . 

Hugo: Les Miserables; Ninety-three. 

Johnston: To Have and To Hold. 

Kingsley: Hereward the Wake. "^ 

Kipling: Punch of Pork's Hill; The Day's Work; } 

Rewards and Fairies. 

Mitchell: Hugh Wjmne. 

More: Jessamy Bride. 

Page: Red Rock. 

Parker: The Seats of the Mighty. 

Sienkiewicz: With Fire and Sword; Deluge. 

Tarkington : The Gentleman from Indiana. 

Wallace: A Fair God; Ben Hur. } 

d. Drama. (Selected.) j 

e. Biography. 

Boswell: Johnson. 
Macaulay: Literary Biographies. 

Trevelyan: Life of Macaulay. i 

Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) ' 

1. Required Reading. 

a. Ashmore: The Business Girl in Every Phase of Her Life. 

b. Butler: Training of Saleswomen. (Chapter on Sales- 
women in Mercantile Stores.) 

c. Sloan: How to Become a Successful Electrician. 
Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

Hilty: Happiness — Essays on the Meaning of Life. 
Marsden: Pushing to the Front. 

108 J 



Bailey: The Country Life Movement. 
McCullough: Engineering as a Vocation. 
Williams: Victories of an Engineer. 



Grade XI-A. Seventh Year, Second Semester. English X. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and written. 

(1) Review. (Topics 1-6 in English IX.) 

(2) Parliamentary usage. 

(3) Related Letters. 

(4) Short Articles. 

(5) Editorials and descriptions. 

(6) Essays. 

(7) Exposition. 

2. Sources of Material. (Select two.) 

a. Based, primarily, on investigation and study of: 

(1) Washington's Farewell Address and Webster's 
First Bunker Hill Oration. 

(2) Macaulay's Speech on Copyright and Lincoln's 
Speech at Cooper Union. 

(3) Emerson: American Scholar. 

(4) Book Reports, Book Reviews. 

(5) Model Essays from Standard Periodicals. 

B. Technical English. 

1. Study Material. (Select one group.) 

a. Sherman and Blaisdell Texts. 

(1) Sherman: Exposition and Argument — Elements, 
Chapter XXXL 

(2) Blaisdell: Book Reports, pp. 212-219. 

2. Elements of Composition for Secondary Schools. Canby and 
Opdyke. 

a. Shaping the material. Chapter IL 

b. The Whole Composition. Chapter V, 

c. The Story. Chapter XI. 

d. Figures of Speech. Part III, Section V. 

e. Prosody. Part III, Section VI. 
II. Literature. 

A. General Literature. 
1. Study Material. 

a. Poetry. (Select one from each group.) 

(1) Short poems. (See Elements, pp. 221, 263, 227.) 
Browning: The Boy and the Angel; Count 
Gismond. 

109 



(2) Minor poems. Milton: L'Allegro; II Penseroso; 
Comus. 

(3) Nineteenth Century and Contemporary Lyrics. 

b. Fiction. (Select one.) 

Hawthorne: House of Seven Gables; The Scarlet 
Letter; Mosses from an Old Manse. 

c. Drama. 

Shakespeare: Hamlet, Coriolanus. 

d. Burke: Speech on Conciliation. 

e. Other Prose from Current Magazines. 

2. English Literature. (See Grade XI-B.) 

3. American Literature. (See Grade XI-B.) 

4. Required Reading. 

Thackeray: Henry Esmond. 

Swift: Gulliver's Travels. 

Addison and Steele: Sir Roger de C overly 's Papers. 

Thackeray: Vanity Fair. 

Dickens: Dombey and Son. 

Austen: Pride and Prejudice. 

5. Supplementary Reading. Home Reading. (See Grade XI-B 
hst.) 

Vocational Literature. 

1. Required Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

a. Bessey, Bruner, Swezey: New Elementary Agriculture . 

b. Hood: Practical School and Home Gardens. 

c. Thwing: College Training and the. Business Man. 
Supplementary Reading. 

Coe: Heroes of Every Day Life. 

Hale: Lights of Two Centuries. 

McCabe: The Struggles and Trials of Self-made Men. 

Morris: Heroes of Progress in America. 

Parton: Captains of Industry. 

Stoddard: Men of Business. 

Stowe: The Lives and Deeds of Self-made Men. 



Grade XII-B. Eighth Year, First Semester. English XI. 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 
1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and Written. Follow up pupil's 
special interest as to either the: 
Essay. 
Novel. 
Short Story. 
Verse-writing. 

110 



Debating. 

Commercial correspondence. 

Newspaper-work. (Writing.) 

Advertising. 

Scientific description. 

Single author. 

Dramatization. 

2. Sources of Material. 

Addison and Steele: Essays. 

Lamb: Essays. 

Macaulay: On Johnson. 

Emerson : Fortune of the Republic, etc. 

Current Literature, including magazines, newspapers. 

3. Memorizing. 

Scenes from Shakespeare. 
Lines from Milton. 
Lines from Pope. 
Lines from Gray. 
Lines from Goldsmith. 
Lines from Burns. 
Lines from Wordsworth. 
B. Technical English. (Choose one group.) 

1. Sherman and Blaisdell Texts: 

a. Sherman: Elements of Literature and Composition 
Chapters XXX, XXXI, XXXIIL 

b. Blaisdell: Composition — Rhetoric. Chapters XIX, XX. 

2. Canby and Opdyke: Review Elements of Composition. 

II. Literature. 

A. General Literature. 
1. Study Material. 

a. Poetry. (Select four.) 

Burns: To a Mouse; John Anderson; For A' That 
and A' That; To a Mountain Daisy. 
Dryden: Alexander's Feast; Power of Music. 
Keats: Ode to a Nightingale; Ode to a Grecian Urn. 
Longfellow : Hymn to the Night. 
Lowell: The Lost Child. 
Moore: Those Evening Bells. 
Palgrave: Songs from Books I and II. 
Shelly: To a Skylark; Ode to the West Wind. 
Tennyson: The Brook. 
Riley: An Old Play-Out Song. 
Wordsworth: Ode to Duty. 

b. Drama. (Selected.) 

(1) Hamlet. (Intensive study.) 

c. The Novel. (Prose Fiction.) 

Ill 



(1) Its development. 

(2) Names of Novels. (Intensive study of one.) 
Dickens: Tale of Two Cities; Goldsmith: Vicar 
of Wakefield; Hawthorne: House of Seven 
Gables; Scott: Ivanhoe; Thackeray: Henry 
Esmond. 

2. Required Reading. (Select four for comparison and pleasure.) 

Austen: Pride and Prejudice. 
Blackmore: Lorna Doone. 
Bunyan: Pilgrim's Progress. 
Eliot: Mill on the Floss. 
Howells: Rise of Silas Lapham. 
Hugo: Les Miserables. 
Kingsley: Westward Ho. 

3. Memorizing. (Select one.) 

Choate: Death of Webster. 
Everett: Character of Washington. 
Ireland: America a World Power. 
Lincoln: Address at Gettysburg Cemetery. 
Northrop: A Manly Fellow. 
Phillips: Toussaint L'Ouverture. 
Washington: The Uplifting of the Negro Race. 
Webster: Crime its Own Detector. 

4. English Literature. (Long's — as needed.) 

5. American Literature. (See Grade X.) 

6. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (To be used at 
teacher's discretion.) 



Emerson: Compensation; Books. 

Carlyle: Heroes and Hero Worship; Essay on Burns. 
Poetry. 

Mansfield: The Story of a Round House. 

Milton: Paradise Lost. 

Noyes: Tales of Mermaid Tavern. 

Swinburne: Atalanta in Calydon. 

Theocritus: Lang's Translation. 
Drama. (Selected.) 
Fiction. 

Barrie: Margaret Ogilvy. 

Duncan: Doctor Luke of the Labrador. 

EHot: Adam Bede; The Mill on the Floss; Romola. 

Ebers: An Egyptian Princess. 

Howells: The Rise of Silas Lapham. 

Hughes: Tom Brown at Oxford. 

Jackson: Ramona. 

James: On Life's Ideals. 



112 



Johnston: Stover at Yale. 

Meadowcroft: The Boy's Life of Edison. 

Thackeray: Henry Esmond; The Newcomes. 

Thompson: Shelley. 

Wells: The War of the Worlds. 

B. Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 

1. Required Reading. 

Bennett: Journalism for Women. 
McCullough: Engineering as a Vocation. 
Verrill: Harper's Aircraft Book. 

C. Supplementary Reading — Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B.) 

Ely: The Social Law of Service. 

Clopper: Child Labor in the City Streets. 

Dodge: Survey of the Occupations Open to the Girl of 14 to 16. 

Munsterberg: Psychology and Industrial Efficiency. 

MacLean: Industrial Training for Women. 

Van Dyke: The Spirit of America. 



Grade XII-A. Eighth Year, Second Semester. English XIL 

I. Composition. 

A. Constructive English. 

1. Form: 

a. Composition — Oral and Written. A finished product of: 

(1) Essay. 

(2) Oration. 

(3) Poem. 

(4) Short Story. 

(5) Book Review. Book Report. 

(6) Forms of Discourse. 

2. Sources of Material. 

a. Personal experience. 

b. Observation. 

c. Books. 

d. Current Literature. 

3. Technical English. 

a. Sherman and Blaisdell Texts: 

(1) Sherman: Elements of Composition, Chapters 
XXX, XXXI; Review the four forms of Dis- 
course, etc. 

(2) Blaisdell: Composition Rhetoric. (Selected.) 

b. Canby and Opdyke: Elements of Composition. 
(Review.) 

c. Wooley: Handbook of Composition. (Supplement.) 

113 



II. Literature. 

A. General Literature. 

1. Study Material. 

a. Poetry. 

Milton: L' Allegro; II Penseroso; Lycidas. 
Bunyan: Pilgrim's Progress. Book I. 
Chaucer: Prologue. 

b. Fiction. (Selected.) 

c. Essay. (Review.) 

d. Drama. 

2. American and English Literature — Historical Study. 

Halleck: American Literature. 

Long: English Literature. 

Sherman: Elements of Literature and Composition. 

Tappan: England's and America's Literature. 

3. Memorizing. 

Antony: Oration over Caesar's Body. 

Goethe: Rest. 

Holmes: The Last Leaf. 

Ingalls: Opportunity. 

KipMng: 'Eathen. 

Tennyson: Crossing the Bar; Trust. 

4. The Short Story. 

a. Art of the story. 

b. The short story in Literature. 

c. Reading and study of representative stories. 

Addison: Constantia and Theodosia. 

Anderson: The Steadfast Tin Soldier. 

Balzac: A Passion in the Desert. 

Boccaccio: Patient Griselda. 

Dickens: A Child's Dream of a Star. 

Hawthorne: The Great Stone Face. 

Irving: Rip Van Winkle. 

Kipling: The Man Who Would Be King. 

Poe: The Gold Bug; The Fall of the House of Usher. 

Stevenson : Markheim. 

5. Required Reading. (Select two.) 

Churchill: The Crisis. 

Gaskell: Cranford. 

Lytton: Last Days of Pompeii. 

Page: Red Rock. 

Parker: The Oregon Trail. 

6. Supplementary Reading. Home Reading. (See Grade XII-B.) 

B. Vocational Literature. (See Grade VII-B.) 

Bennett: How to Become an Author. 

Fowler: Starting in Life— What Each Calling Offers Ambitious 

Men and Boys. 

114 



Verrill: Harper's Wireless Book. 
Supplementary Literature — Home Reading. (See Grade VII-B. 
Addams: Newer Ideals of Peace. 
Hadley: Standards of Public Morality. 
Jordon: The Nation's Need of Men. 
Lindsey: The Beast and the Jungle. 
Root: The Citizen's Part in Government. 



115 



Part V. 
CONTRIBUTIONS. 



CONTRIBUTION I. 

SPECIALIZED TEACHING OF LITERATURE. 

Of course, in discussing questions of this kind, it is always right to assume 
the obvious. Yet it often happens that what one assumes as obvious, another 
will reject as unobvious, or perhaps deny as even undemonstrable. It then 
may be well to compare what we severally are premising, and what we are 
postulating as the means and as the ends of literary culture. 

The writer of these lines assumes as obvious that the study of literature 
should mean the study of literature, of the thing itself and not of facts or 
observations about literature. It is assumed, also, that by literature we mean 
aesthetic compositions, or such in both prose and poetry as involve ultimate 
spiritual truth or beauty. It is assumed, moreover, that the end in the study 
of these is, and must be always, the spiritual discernment and appropriation 
of such ultimate truth or beauty. 

All students have capacity to discern aesthetic excellences, but by no means 
in like degree. Most pupils in secondary schools and even colleges disuse 
the sensibilities in reading, and, if possible, evade occasions of exercising 
them in outside life. They have become so adjusted to the world of fact that 
they find it irksome to deal much with the world of sentiment and beauty. It 
will not do to assume that a class made up of pupils practically out of sym- 
pathy with the sesthetic or spiritual side of life can or will read such literature 
as "The Princess" otherwise than intellectually. If we attempt to discuss 
with them its quality, they will not understand us, but will perhaps believe we 
are ourselves deceived about what we say we find, and the experience we 
derive. That is beginning at the top. It is better to begin, as we do in other 
subjects, at the bottom. A good way to do that is to set the class at distin- 
guishing by sesthetic judgment those words that have poetic, emotional quality 
from those that have not. That will at once arouse imagination. Then let 
the phrases be carefully examined similarly; and when poetic phrases are 
distinguished clearly from prosaic let the figures be taken in the same way. 
I have known so little as two weeks' study of this kind to open minds to 
poetry that had been insensible to it before. 

Let the teacher devise better means if he can, but he must begin down 
at the level of his pupil's present capacity of sesthetic appropriation. When 
by whatsoever exercise or method, the student finds it no longer possible to 
read past or over poetic terms, phrases, and figures, he may rise to the theme. 
Let him learn what the theme or message is as a source of power in literature, 
from some famihar poem like 'How They Brought the Good News'. When 
he sees that the ultimate idea or beauty here is faith, sympathy, show him 
how it may be correlated into the ultimate thought or truth, that supreme 
faith and sympathy may be evinced below the human sphere, and even im- 
pressed into the service of society. With this object lesson, send him away 



119 



to find some poem that he can interpret for himself. In a later exercise teach 
him how to identify, and exhaust in imagination, the character signs and hints 
by which, as in the poem just named, the author idealizes to us his hero. 

"Should methods pursued in the study of science be adopted in literary 
study and criticism?" I answer yes, if the end is still literary and aesthetic. 
We must beware of confusing the methods and the aim of science. When a 
student feels the power of a masterpiece, he may well enough be set to study 
out its history, the time and the place of its composition, and all other cir- 
cumstances that go to make appropriation and enjoyment of it more complete. 
He may study endlessly, besides, in themes and modes and treatment and 
technique, and the evolution of these; for they all have a history. The point 
is, interest must precede. These things are not to be done to create interest 
in literature, — more than Hebrew and Exegesis are to be studied in order to 
make men wish to enter the ministry. Philologic and linguistic study should 
be encouraged, but in its own right, not as a substitute for true literary work. 

If anybody objects that the system here outlined is too scientific, or too 
unscientific, I have no argument with him. The question of how to teach 
literature is no longer a question of theories, but results. With unspecialized 
teaching, ninety students — with expert instruction, one hundred — out of an 
average hundred are being made enthusiastic readers of the best literature in 
many schools. (34 j 



(34) Sherman, pp. 381-383. 



120 



CONTRIBUTION 11. 

TALKS ON TEACHING LITERATURE— THE CONDITIONS. 

A careful and intelligent study of masterpieces of prose or verse, the 
teacher soon perceives, must develop greatly the student's sense of the value 
of words. This is not the highest function of this work, but it is by no means 
one to be despised. Literary study affords opportunities for training of this 
sort which are not found elsewhere; and a sensitiveness to word-values is with 
a child the beginning of wisdom. 

Children too often acquire and adults follow the habit of accepting words 
instead of ideas. A genuine appreciation of the worth of language is after all 
the chief outward sign of distinction between the wise man and the dullard. 
One is content to receive speech as sterling coin, and the other perceives that 
words are but counters. If students could but appreciate the difference 
between apprehending and comprehending what they are taught, between 
learning words and assimilating ideas, the intellectual millenium would be at 
hand. Children need to learn that the sentence is after all only the envelope, 
only the vehicle for the thought. Everybody agrees to this theoretically, but 
practically the fact is generally ignored. The child is father to the man in 
nothing else more surely than in the trait of accepting in perfect good faith 
empty words as complete and satisfactory in themselves. The habit of being 
content with phrases once bred into a child can be eradicated by nothing short 
of severe intellectual surgery. 

To say that words are received as sufficient in themselves and not as con- 
veying ideas sounds like a paradox; but there are few of us who may not at 
once make a personal application and find an illustration in the common 
phrases and formulas of our life. Perhaps none of us are free from the fault 
of sometimes substituting empty phrases for vital rules of conduct. The most 
simple and the most tremendous facts of human life are often known only 
as lifeless statements rather than realized as vibrant truths. With children 
the language of text-book or classroom is so likely to be repeated by rote and 
remembered mechanically that constant vigilance on the part of the teacher 
can hardly overcome the evil. Force the boy who on the college entrance 
examination paper writes fluently that "Milton is the poet of sublimity" to 
try to define, even to himself, what the statement means, and the result is 
confusion. He meant nothing. He had the words, but they had never con- 
veyed to him a thought. Language should be the servant of the mind, but 
never was servant that so constantly and so successfully usurped the place 
of master. 

Children must be taught, and taught not simply by precept but by ex- 
perience, to realize that the value of the word lies solely in its efficiency as a 
vehicle of thought. They must learn to appreciate as well as to know mechan- 
ically that language is to be estimated by its effect in communicating the idea, 
and that to be satisfied with words for themselves is obvious folly. For en- 

121 



forcing this fact literature is especially valuable. It is hardly possible in even 
the most superficial work on a play of Shakespeare, for instance, for the reader 
to fail to perceive how the idea burns through the word, how wide the difference 
between the mere apprehension of the language and the comprehension of the 
poet's meaning. In the study of great poetry the impossibility of resting 
satisfied with anything short of the ideas is so strongly brought out that it 
cannot be ignored or forgotten; and in this way pupils are impressed with 
the value of words. 

This sensitiveness to the value of words in general is closely coupled with an 
appreciation of the force of words in particular, of what may be called word- 
values. The power of appreciating that a word is merely a messenger bringing 
an idea, is naturally connected with the ability to distinguish with exactness the 
nature and the value of the thought which the messenger presents. To feel 
the need of knowing clearly and surely the thought expressed inevitably leads 
to precision and delicacy in distinguishing the significance and force of language. 
When once the child appreciates the difference between the accepting of what 
he reads vaguely or mechanically and the getting from it its full meaning, he 
is eager to have it all; he finds delight in the intellectual exercise of searching 
out each hidden meaning and the sense of possession which belongs to achieving 
the thought of the master. It is not to be expected that our pupils shall be 
able to receive in its full richness the deepest thought of the poets, but they 
none the less find delight in possessing it to the extent of their ability. The 
point is too obvious to need expansion; but every instructor will recognize 
its great importance. 

Obvious as is this importance of the sense of the value of words and a 
sensitiveness to word-values, it is not infrequently overlooked. Teachers see 
the need of a knowledge of the meaning of terms and phrases in a particular 
selection without stopping to think of the prime value of the principle involved, 
or indeed that a general principle is involved at all. Still more often they 
fail to perceive all that logically follows. In exact, vital realization of the 
full force of language lies the secret of sharing the wisdom of the ages. If 
students can be trained to penetrate through the word of the printed page to 
the thought, they are brought into communication with the master-minds of 
the race. It is not learning to read in the common, primary acceptation of 
the term that opens for the young the thought of the race; but learning to 
read in the higher and deeper sense of receiving the words as a symbol behind 
and beyond which the thought lies concealed from the ordinary and super- 
ficial readers. 

Most of all -is it the business of the young to learn about life. Whatever 
does not tend, directly or indirectly, to make the child better acquainted with 
the world he has come into, with how he must and how he should bear himself 
under its complex conditions, is of small value as far as education goes. Of 
rules for conduct he is given plenty as to matters of morality and religion. 
Moral laws and religious precepts are good, and could they accomplish all 
that is sometimes expected of them, life would quickly be a different matter, 
and teachers would find themselves living in an earthly paradise. Unhappily 
these excellent maxims effect in actual life far less than is desired. Not in- 

122 



frequently the urchin who has been stuffed with moral admonitions as a doll 
with sawdust shows in his conduct no regard for them other than a fine zeal 
in scorning them. Children are seldom much affected by explicit directions 
in regard to conduct. They must be reached by indirection, and they are 
moulded less by what they recognize as intentionally wise views of life than by 
those which they receive unconsciously. The more just these unrecognized 
ideas of themselves and of the world are, the greater is the chance that they 
will develop a character well balanced and well adjusted to the conditions of 
human life. 

Children live in a world largely made up of halfperceptions, of misunder- 
standings, and of dreams; a world pathetically full of guesses. They must 
depend largely upon appearances, and constantly confound what seems with 
what really is. They learn but slowly, however, to shape their beliefs or 
their emotions by conventionality. They do not easily acquire the vice of 
accepting shams because some authority has endorsed these. All of us are 
likely to have had queerly uncomfortable moments when we have found 
ourselves confounded and reproved by the unflinching honesty of the child; 
and we have been forced to confess, at least to ourselves, that much of our 
admiration is mere affectation, many of our professions unadulterated truck- 
ling to some authority in which after all we have little real faith. Children 
are naturally too unsophisticated for self-deception of this sort. They con- 
found substance and shadow, but they do it in good faith and with no affecta- 
tions. They are therefore at the place where they most need sound and 
sure help to apprehend and to comprehend those things which their elders 
call the realities of life. 

What human nature and human life are like is learned most quickly and 
most surely from the best literature. The outward, the evident conditions of 
society and of humanity may perhaps be best obtained by children from the 
events of everyday existence; but in all that goes deeper the wisdom of great 
writers is the surest guide. 

On the face of it such a proposition may not seem self-evident, and to not 
a few teachers it is likely to appear a little absurd. Children, it is evident, 
learn the realities of life by living. They perceive physical truth by the 
persuasive force of actual experience: by tumbling down and bumping their 
precious noses; by unmistakably impressive contact with the fist of a pug- 
nacious school-fellov/; by being hungry or uncomfortably stuffed with Thanks- 
giving turkey; by heat and by cold, by sweets or by sours, by hardness or by 
softness. Certainly through such means as these the child gams knowledge 
and develops mentally; but the process is inevitably slow. Most of all is 
the growth in the youthful mind of general deductions and the perception of 
underlying principles extremely gradual. He does not learn quickly enough 
that certain lines of conduct are likely to lead to unfortunate ends. Even 
when this is grasped, he has to come to appreciate what human laws underlie 
the whole matter; nor is he in the least likely to realize them so fully as to 
shape by them his conduct in the steadily more and more complicated affairs 
of life. (3) 



(3) Bates, pp. 15-20. 

123 



CONTRIBUTION III 
"HOW TO TEACH ENGLISH CLASSICS." 

Essential Principles in Teaching English ' 

The problems of teaching English literature to pupils in the secondary 
schools is not to be considered an easy task. To approach the work with the 
misconception that it need be fraught with little effort or anxiety is a sure 
method of steering directly toward disaster. But to say that it is difficult, 
and to urge that it demands painstaking labor, is not to stigmatize it. Rather 
because of these inherent hindrances we can assert that it is supremely interest- 
ing, and that the task can be made to yield genuine pleasure and constant 
enlightenment. To discuss in a general way how joyful and intelligent interest 
may be made to pervade the difficult task of teaching English literature to 
pupils of high school age is the object of this Introduction. This discussion 
will be adequate only when, together, we have answered the general query, 
' What are the essential principles which should guide instruction in English 
literature? " To this query there are two general replies, and each reply will 
allow detailed comment. 

I. The pupil must be made to apprehend the objective meaning of the 
message. 

II. He must be made to comprehend the subjective meaning of the 
message. 

In saying that the pupil must be made to apprehend the objective sig- 
nificance of the message, I mean simply and solely that he must understand 
the message of the text; he must see what facts the writer is trying to impart; 
he must translate into mental concept these arbitrary signs which we call 
words. 

"But this", the inexperienced teacher may say, "why, this is easy; the 
pupil can pronounce the words, and if he can pronounce them, surely the 
words instinctively carry with their pronunciation the intended meaning." 

But could that inexperienced teacher have a photograph of the mental 
picture which a selected bit of literature has imprinted upon the several minds 
in the pupils before him, he would be appalled. And the most appalling 
feature of the situation would not be the array of false concepts, but it would 
be the array of hazy concepts; or, in many cases, the absolute lack of any 
concept whatever. Let us play a little longer with this photographic trope. 
This inexperienced teacher of literature is much like the very amateur photog- 
rapher. Our neophyte artist has read his book of instructions carefully; 
he now thinks he knows the mechanics of his instrument, and he takes it out 
into the landscape, sets up his tripod, and fires his several shots. Everything 



iThe substance of this Introduction, with only slight changes in phrasing, was embodied 
in a paper read before the English Round Table of the National Educational Association at its 
meeting in Boston, in July, 1910. 

124 



apparently works well, and he goes to his dark room in high expectancy. 
He thinks he knows what each plate will reveal. He eagerly anticipates 
the beautiful cloud effects in plate number one; the lights and shadows 
that the willows cast in beautiful intermingling over the brooklet in 
plate number two; and the splendid contour of the tree-bestrewn and 
rock-laden mountain in plate number three. But, alas, under the weird 
light of his ruby lamp the new chemicals in their dish of shining japan reveal 
no such aesthetic delights. The outlines refuse to stand out in bold relief; 
rude blotches mar the cumulus clouds; the willows are covered with spiteful 
air-globules of varied diameters; the mountain is a dismal dead blank. And 
the ambitious artist, when he leaves the dark room, goes to the library, picks 
up his Coleridge, and wearily sits down to read that splendid definition of 
dejection : 

A grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear, 

A stifled, drowsy, unimpassioned grief, 

Which finds no natural outlet, no relief, 
In word, or sigh, or tear. 

Our photographic figure, however, does not walk on all fours. The tyro 
in English teaching is not so effectively saddened; for he, working with 
sensitive minds rather than with sensitive plates, has no such positive and 
enlightening way of knowing of his failure. Accordingly he is too often 
content to go ahead, until finally by some hook or crook he is rudely shaken 
into the conviction that by his inane teaching the pupils are having all their 
literary nerves devitalized. Instead of these neurones being set atingle by 
the suggested color-concepts falling on fair Madeline's fair breast in the crypt 
of the moonlit church — instead of a brilliant recreating of the notes of the 
pealing organ and the full-voiced choir which dissolved the devotee of mel- 
ancholy into ecstasies and brought all heaven before his eyes — instead of 
these highly desirable and complacently assumed conceptions, we have, alas, 
a dim and misty grayness shadowing all. Not in every case, let me hasten 
to say. We who teach have had the exquisite pleasure of hearing the voice 
tremble and of seeing the eye glisten its appreciation of sensitive effects, and 
in those moments we have thanked the gods — and not amiss — that they had 
allowed us to play a part in leading a young companion to a plane where his 
horizon of beauty was suddenly and richly expanded, and then at a glance 
toward the stolid and the unaroused, our thanks retreat to seek the ebon 
shades of a dark Cimmerian desert. 

But merely to point out defects in teaching is not to eradicate them. 
The physician after he has made his diagnosis must try to effect a cure. What, 
we may ask, is the cure for frowsy habits of reading? How can the amateur 
teacher of English become a professional expert? 

The teacher must first convince his sUpshod readers that their reading 
is slipshod. He must make them realize that true reading involves the re- 
creation in the reader's mind and heart of the essential concepts and the 
essential emotions which dictated the master's writing. The mere mechanical 
pronunciation of words as an end in itself the true reader will gradually learn 

125 



to spurn; the revisualizing of concepts and the revitalizing of emotions he 
will learn instinctively to demand. Along with this will come the conviction 
that literature cannot be effectively studied while the pupil recHnes on a 
soporific couch, or lolls luxuriously in a Morris chair. For most of us the 
study of literature demands the posture of a straight-backed stool. But 
what specific pedagogical effort will establish the conviction that words must 
be vitalized, that sentences and paragraphs must be transfused with the 
glory and the strength of imagination. 

As a mere device try this: Read to your pupils — or have the pupils read 
to themselves — a stanza of poetry, or a paragraph of prose; then immediately 
demand that books be closed. Open a fusilade of questions. What pictures, 
class, have you in your mind? What senses are appealed to? Sight? Sound? 
Feeling? Odor? Taste? Is there any sensation of movement? Is this upward? 
Downward? Straight forward? Crooked? Zigzag? Winding? Are there any 
words which refuse to yield a definite meaning? If so, why? What is the 
strongest appeal made to your imagination? 

Let us take a concrete case from the Passing of Arthur and see what sort 
of questions and comments will create concepts, vivify language, and arouse 
emotions. 

Then saw they how there hove a dusky barge, 

Dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern, 

Beneath them; and descent! ng they were ware 

That all the decks were dense with stately forms, 

Black-stoled, black-hooded, like a dream — by these 

Three queens with crowns of gold — and from them rose 

A cry that shiver'd to the tingling stars. 

And, as it were one voice, an agony 

Or lamentation, like a wind that shrills 

All night in a waste land, where no one comes, 

Or hath come, since the making of the world. 

Then murmur'd Arthur, "Place me in the barge," 

So to the barge they came. There those three queens 

Put forth their hands, and took the King, and wept. 

But she that rose the tallest of them all 

And fairest laid his head upon her lap, 

And loosed the shatter'd casque, and chafed his hands, 

And call'd him by his name, complaining loud. 

And dropping bitter tears against a brow 

Striped with dark blood; for all his face was white 

And colorless, and like the wither'd moon 

Smote by the fresh beam of the springing east; 

And all his greaves and cuisses dash'd with drops 

Of onset; and the light and lustrous curls — 

That made his forehead like a rising sun 

High from the dais-throne — where parch'd with dust. 

Or, clotted into points and hanging loose, 

Mixt with the knightly growth that fringed his lips. 

126 



So like a shatter 'd column lay the King; 
Not like that Arthur who, with lance in rest, 
From spur to plume a star of tournament. 
Shot thro' the lists at Camelot, and charged 
Before the eyes of ladies and of kings. i 

Immediately after the passage is read let all books be closed. Some pupil 
may first be called upon to describe the picture which was in Tennyson's mind. 
Omitted details may then be supplied by the class. Or perhaps the teacher 
will prefer to test the pupils by asking questions that will at once bring out 
certain details, — such, for example, as the following, — many of them ex- 
tremely simple: 

What color is the barge? Where are Arthur and Bedivere when the barge 
comes up? What is your idea of these "black-stoled, black-hooded" figures? 
What gender are they? What is the significance of the phrase "like a dream"? 
What is the antecedent of them in the phrase, "and from them rose a cry"? 
Can your imagination recreate this sound? Concentrate your mind on the 
phrase, "Shiver'd to the tingling stars". Read the next lines carefully and 
see if your idea of the cry is changed. How do you imagine Arthur is taken 
to the barge? Why did the queen weep? How do you suppose the casque 
was unloosed? What senses are appealed to in the expression, "and chaffed 
his hands"? Why is the epithet "dark" used to describe the blood? Why 
not bright? What simile helps to intensify our conception of the whiteness of 
Arthur's face? "And all his greaves and cuisses dash'd with drops of onset"— 
explain each detail in the sentence after imagining the whole. How did the 
"light and lustrous curls" make his forehead Hke a rising sun high from dias- 
throne? Get the full significance of the words "clotted into points." Do 
you know the meaning of the expression, "lance in rest"? Study the contrast 
between the appearance of Arthur as he lies upon the barge and as he formerly 
appeared in the tournaments. Now re-read the passage. Doesn't it seem 
more definite, more vivid, more pulsating than it did on first reading? Do 
the details not stand out in clearer outline? Don't you see the figures as 
definite personalities? Don't you hear the sounds which rang in Tennyson's 
ears when he wrote the passage? 

You will from these questions readily perceive that the design is to generate 
in the mind of the reader the essential picture which was in the poet's mind. 
In other words, the questions emphasize the value of re-creating the sensory 
image — the concrete images which appeal to the five senses. 

Now we must remember that the concrete image is the basis of all sensory 
imagery, for sensory imagery means simply and solely the concrete impressions 
that strike the senses, — sight, hearing, feeling, smell, and taste. When we 
remember that originally all language was pictorial, and that the modern 
civilized child cares little for the unillustrated book, and that even we who 
are more mature smile approvingly when we learn that the lecture we are to 
attend is to be illuminated with the stereopticon — when we remember all this, 
we begin to have an idea of what an important part these concrete, visual 
images play in our daily life. 

'Tennyson's Poetical Works, Cambridge Edition, p. 448, lines 361-393. 
127 



When we apply our study of sensory imagery to the interpretation of 
literature, it means that we are not getting the exact picture that was in the 
author's mind unless we know the exact details — real or imaginary — that 
were in the author's mind. Now for the purpose of sympathetic reading it is 
of course not necessary that the exact image originally in the poet's mind be 
re-created, — the essential thing is that the reader study the particular passage 
he is reading with the idea of securing as nearly as possible the writer's point 
of view. Then by the proper arrangement and massing of details, the alert, 
sensitive reader — providing his experience be sufficient — can create the 
adequate image and come into sympathy with the author. 

But in all our teaching we are too prone to forget that the experience 
of our pupils is severely limited. The trouble with them and with ourselves 
is just this, — we have not seen enough. Or if we have seen enough, we have 
not observed closely enough. Recently in my work with a class of seniors 
[xi the high school we came to this passage in Milton's L' Allegro: 

And he, by the friar's lantern led, 
Tells how the drudging goblin sweat 
To earn his cream-bowl! duly set, 
When in one night, ere glimpse of morn. 
His shadowy flail had threshed the corn 
That ten day-laborers could not end. 

When the class was questioned concerning the line, "His shadowy flail 
had threshed the corn," it developed that only four in a class of twenty-four 
had any definite idea of the picture that must have been in the poet's mind, 
most of them having never seen a flail or a threshing floor. ^ I do not mention 
this as a surprising incident; I mention it because it is worth while to remember 
constantly that the experience of the city child is widely different from the 
experience of the country child, and that the spirit of the present generation 
varies decidedly from that of our grandfathers. 

The solution here, I believe, is the same as in the realm of practical 
ethics, — the instillment in the individual mind of the necessity of a wise 
unselfishness, the partial effacement of the individual egoism — a liberal Cath- 
olicism. Applying the dictum to ourselves as readers, we must learn to feel 
how extremely narrow has been the experience which has come to each one 
of us. We may have never seen the magnolia's bloom or heard the ominous 
soughing of the whispering pines; we have never been on the equator where 
darkness comes at a single stride when the sun's rim dips. But if in reading 
imagery that comprehends unexperienced phenomena we project ourselves 
in the direction of the poet's thought, and sensitively adjust our vision to his, 
we can, without sharing his exact experience, enter sympathetically into his 
pictures and his sensations. If this were not so Byron never would have 
popularized for an English public those opening lines of The Bride of Ahydos 
so rich in oriental ihiagery: 

Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle 
Are emblems of deeds that are done in their clime. 
Where the rage of the vulture, the love of the turtle, 

128 



Now melt into sorrow, now madded to crime? 

Know ye the land of the cedar and vine, 

Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine; 

Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppress'd with perfume, 

Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gul in her bloom; 

Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit. 

And the voice of the nightingale never is mute; 

Where the tints of the earth, and the hues of the sky. 

In color though varied, in beauty may vie. 

And the purple of Ocean is deepest in dye; 

Where the virgins are soft as the roses they twine. 

And all, save the spirit of man, is divine? 

'T is the clime of the East; 'tis the land of the sun — 

Can he smile on such deeds as his children have done? 

Oh! wild as the accents of lovers' farewell 

Are the hearts which they hear, and the tales which they tell. 

Now the details here enumerated may not be a part of the reader's ex- 
perience, but a willingness to become catholic, and a wisely energized projection 
will make the passage vital. This vitality, let me insist, cannot be adequately 
secured without an ability to re-create these sensory images — these appeals 
to the sense of sight, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting. Because the 
visual and the auditory images are so common in literature, and because 
they are so graphically seen in the passages previously quoted from The Passing 
of Arthur and The Bride of Abydos, we need not pause to elucidate them further. 
We may, however, dwell a little while on the appeals made in literature to those 
sense organs of lesser note, — smell, taste, and feeling. 

One passage of Shakespeare's — the speech of Lady Macbeth in the sleep- 
walking scene — is one of the best illustrations in all literature of the effective 
use of the sense of smell. Verplanck, after mentioning the fact that the more 
agreeable associations of this sense are often used for poetic effect, adds, 
"But the smell has never been successfully used as a means of impressing the 
imagination with terror, pity, or any deeper emotions, except in this dreadful 
sleep-walking scene of the guilty Queen, and in one paralleled scene of the 
Greek drama, as widely terrible as this. It is that passage of the Agamemnon 
of Aeschylus, where the captive prophetess, Cassandra, wrapt in visionary 
inspiration, scents first the smell of blood, and then the vapors of the tomb 
breathing from the palace of Atrides, as ominous of his approaching murder." 

As an example of the agreeable sensations of odor I may quote from 
King James version of Solomon's Song, iii, 6: — "Who is this that cometh out 
of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, 
with all powders of the merchant?" 

All of you will recall the famous scene when Jacob, pretending to be Esau, 
goes to his father; "and his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now and 
kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him; and he smelled of his 
raiment, and blessed him, and said. See the smell of my son is as the smell 
of a field which the Lord hath blessed." 



129 



Keats in Lamia has this suggestive simile: 

Like the hid scent in an unbudded rose, 
and Milton in Paradise Lost speaks of the 

Groves whose rich trees wept odorous gum and balm. 
I will cite one more odor image, — this from Shakespeare, Henry IV ^ 
Hotspur, speaking of a fop who came up to him at the close of battle says: 
He was perfumed like a milliner; 
And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held 
A pouncet-box, which ever and anon 
He gave his nose and took 't away again; 
* * * and still he smil'd and talk'd,^ 
And as the soldiers bore dead bodies by, 
He called them untaught knaves, unmannerly, 
To bring a slovenly unhandsome corse 
Betwixt the wind and his nobihty. 
Closely connected with the sense of smell is the sense of taste. Milton 
describing paradise (Book IV, 327 ff.) speaks of Adam and Eve: 
They sat them down; and, after no more toil 
Of their sweet gardening labour than sufficed 
To recommend cool Zephyr, and make ease 
More easy, wholesome thirst and appetite 
More grateful, to their supper-fruits they fell — 
Nectarine fruits, which the compliant boughs 
Yielded them, sidelong as they sat reclining 
On the soft downy bank damasked with flowers. 
The savory pulp they chew, and in the rind. 
Still as they thirsted, scoop the brimming stream. 
In that remarkable conversation between Eve and her tempter, in the 
ninth book of Paradise Lost, Satan describes his own sensations when he first 
came to the tree of knowledge: 

* * * on a day, roving the fields, I chanced 
A goodly tree far distant to behold, 
Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixed, 
Ruddy and gold. I nearer drew to gaze; 
When from the boughs a savoury odor blown. 
Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense 
Than smell of sweetest fennel, or the teats 
Of ewe or goat dropping with milk at even, 
Unsucked of lamb or kid, that tend their play. 
To satisfy the sharp desire I had 
Of tasting those fair Apples, I resolved 
Not to defer; hunger and thirst at once. 
Powerful persuaders, quickened at the scent 
Of that alluring fruit, urged me so keen. 

Amid the tree now got, where plenty hung 
130 



Tempting so high, to pluck and eat my fill 
I spared not; for such pleasure till that hour 
At feed or fountain never had I found. 
Sated at length, ere long I might perceive 
Strange alteration in me. * * * 
You will readily recall that exquisite scene in the Midsummer Night's 
Dream where the beguiled Titania is seeking to administer to the wants of 
her adored Bottom, who bears the Ass's head. Listen to Titania as she 
urges him to name his desire: 

Titania. Or say, sweet Love, what thou desirest to eat. 
Bottom. Truly a peck of provender; I could munch your good dry oats. 
Methinks I have a great desire to a bottle of hay; good hay, sweet hay, hath 
no fellow. 

Titania. I have a venturous fairy that shall seek 

The squirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts. 
Bottom. I had rather have a handful or two of dried peas. 
Such thoughts as these doubtless set the donkey's salivary gland a-working' 
Let us see what Keats's description of the actions of Madeline's lover on the 
eve of St. Agnes will do for us: 

And still she slept an azure-lidded sleep. 
In blanched linen, smooth and lavender'd 
While he from forth the closet brought a heap 
Of candied apple, quince, and plum, and gourd; 
With jellies smoother than the creamy curd. 
And lucent syrups, tinct with cinnamon; 
Manna and dates in argosy transferr'd 
From Fez; and spiced dainties, every one. 
From silken Samarcand to cedar'd Lebanon. 

When we come to a consideration of touch imagery we find it to include 
sensations of movement, muscular pressure, and temperature. The exhilarat- 
ing movement of a fast-plying ship, the grasp of the hand, the sense of warmth 
and cold, — all these are freely employed in literature. Perhaps in some 
cases they have been too freely employed. I have a friend who has cared 
nothing for Keats since he noted the poet's allusion to kisses as slippery 
blisses. 

Now among all the touch images in literature I know of none that makes 
more delicately sensuous appeal than the one used by Rossetti in The Blessed 
Damosel. You will all recall the picture of the maiden leaning over the bar 
of heaven. To this visual image the poet adds details beautifully illustrative 
of the tactile sense. 

And still she bowed herself and stooped 

Out of the circling charm; 

Until her bosom must have made 

The bar she leaned on warm. 

And the lilies lay as if 

Upon her bended arm. 

131 



We must not assume, however, that the pupil's apperception of sensory 
images as these — their analysis and their labeling — is the sine qua non of 
English teaching. There should be merely enough of this to arouse the inert 
and to stimulate the curious. To many these concepts will of course come 
without the teacher's aid, and we must be careful that students of quick 
insight be not satiated with the mere routine of analysis. 

There are two or three other practices corollary to thevisuahzing process, 
which are vital to the apprehension of the objective meaning in literature, 
the pedagogical significance of which we may now briefly examine. 

Among the most valuable of these practices which an English teacher 
may employ is the illumination of the abstract by concrete illustrations. 
Take, for example, that well-known couplet from Locksley Hall: 

Love took up the harp of Life, and smote on all the chords with might; 
Smote the chord of Self, that, trembling, past in music out of sight. 

In elaborating the meaning of these lines which show the power of love 
in effacing self, the teacher should draw upon the great realm of life and story, 
and tell — or have his students tell — of some great sacrifice which a mother 
has made for a son, a wife for a husband, or a sweetheart for her lover. Let 
ttie narrator bring forward in its detailed concreteness that splendid immolat- 
ing spirit of Sydney Carton — that greatest of all characters in the greatest of 
Dickens's novels. Carton's love for Lucie Manette was so supremely great 
that he would not even offer himself in marriage, for he knew too well that 
his dissolute, impractical nature was illsuited to the oflfice of husband. But 
he bided his time in pitiable isolation of spirit, faithful always to that early 
promise that he would willingly make any sacrifice to keep her, or any dear 
to her, safe from any evil or any peril. And when, in that strange and intense 
situation in the prison of the Conciergerie, when he found that it was possible 
for him, by a vicarious sacrifice, to liberate the husband of her whom he loved 
so unselfishly, then willingly he laid down his Hfe in order that Charles Darnay 
might be saved to Lucie and to Lucie's children. With the example of this 
sacrifice fresh before us, shall we not revert with renewed interest to the ab- 
straction of the poet, and read with keener delight the words which a concrete 
example has clarified? Try it now in your own instance as you re-read the 
couplet: 

Love took up the harp of Life, and smote on all the chords with might; 

Smote the chord of Self, that, trembling, past in music out of sight. 

The student should be trained to see the concreteness in the midst of all 
abstractions. Or, failing in this, he should definitely recognize the fact that 
the passage has not yielded the message; and if he ends his study then, he 
should be conscious of his failure, — he should not be content with dim and 
hazy notions. 

Another valuable means of enabling a pupil to catch the objective meaning 
of a passage in literature is that of oral reading. Oral reading is nearly akin 
to those earlier and more natural conditions of literary communication when 
bards and minstrels were the habitual purveyors of literature. Homer and 

132 



Beowulf and the Nibelungenlied were recited long before they were crystalized 
into their present arbitrary forms. Even Coleridge's Chrisiabel was generally 
known in England long before it was published. And yet school principals 
in recent years have sometimes complained because they have discovered 
their teachers reading aloud to the classes. And many superintendents 
employ college graduates to teach English without thinking to question the 
applicant's power in the oral interpretation of literature. I know some 
stammerers who are trying to teach English, but I know of no club-footed 
masters who try to give dancing lessons. 

Finally, the message of the text — its objective significance — cannot be 
understood without understanding the meaning of words and the references. 
This conquest will always be a portion of the work fraught with great difficulty. 
If we are to progress in our education, these words and references will not 
come without physical and mental effort. They often demand a trip down- 
stairs to the dictionary or to the encyclopedia. Oftentimes they will invoke 
the reading of other literary selections. What they most insistently urge is 
intelligent effort toward the comprehension of their application in a particular 
case. In this it often happens that the reference books give little aid; we 
must rely upon a concentration that will yield its natural mental product. 
I remember distinctly my first experience with the opening lines of Lowell's 
Cathedral- 
Far through the memory shines a happy day. 
Cloudless of care, downshod to every sense. 
And simply perfect from its own resource. 

The phrase down-shod proved recalcitrant; it meant nothing. I re-read the 
passage, and still the meaning was obscure. A fellow teacher of English 
chanced to call upon me in the midst of my effort, and I eagerly sought his aid. 
After some moments of intense study he admitted that the phrase completely 
baffled him, and reluctantly we abandoned the task of interpretation. When 
he had gone, however, I seated myself in my stiffest-backed chair, and centered 
my closest attention upon that defying phrase — down-shod to every sense. 
Suddenly it flashed its meaning upon me, — shod ivith feathery doion, hence soft 
and yielding — responsive. And then I turned about and heaped a bitter 
malediction upon my stupidity. I have been somewhat mollified since by 
seeing my friends puzzle over the phrase, but I had learned my lesson. It is 
this: The meaning in a given message is usually clear if we vouchsafe to it its 
deserved measure of patience and concentration. And this lesson we should 
continually teach to our pupils. 

And now together I think we are agreed on one answer to this query 
concerning the essential principles which should guide our instruction in 
English literature. In our first reply — the pupil mast be made to apprehend the 
objective meaning of the message — we emphasize the importance of an imaginative 
translation of words into concepts. By insisting upon the definite re-creation 
of those images which appeal to sight, hearing, feeling, odor, and taste, we 
insure a sympathetic interpretation which mere pronunciation of words does 
not necessarily convey. Aside from questions designed to re-create these 

133 



sensory images, we insist upon concrete examples to illustrate the abstract, 
upon expressive oral reading, and upon such a conscientious use of the dic- 
tionary and encyclopedia as will aid in vitalizing the obscure. But necessary 
to the full enjoyment and the full comprehension of literature there must be 
a concurrent reaction which the second reply suggests. 

You will recall the phrasing of the second reply. The reading must com- 
prehend the subjective meaning of the message. And just what do I mean by 
this? I mean that there shall be some appreciable reaction; there must be a 
turning in of these literary sensations upon the individual reader. The sensa- 
tion must not volatilize; it must re-create; it must refer itself back to the 
reader's view of life and there recognize its contrasts and establish its com- 
parisons. It will stimulate the personal question and generate the personal 
comment. It will arouse such inquiries as these — Do I believe this? Does 
my experience support this view? Just what differences are there between 
the situations described and my own situation on a particular occasion? May 
the author's teaching be accepted as universally true? 

But, some one says, this is all selfish, and the function of literature should 
be altruistic. Let me hasten to say that the wisest altruism usually follows 
the wisest egoism. The understanding of self will usually generate a knowledge 
of other selves. The recognition of faults in our own person should make us 
more readily condone faults in other persons; knowledge of our own limita- 
tions should make us tolerant of the limitations of others. But perhaps we 
can make clear this notion of the subjective influence of nature by a concrete 
illustration. 

What child in reading the story of Red Riding Hood, for example, has 
stopped with the objective comprehension of those familiar details? He has, 
of course, seen in clear vision the little girl clad in her ^miliar costume 
going through the lonely woods, meeting the big, gaunt wolf, listening to his 
honeyed words and watched his unctuous manner. And a few minutes later 
he has seen the wolf in another guise acting the part of the grandmother. But 
it is not alone the clear vision of these details that has made this story live in 
the universal heart of childhood. Each reader who has had his pulse-beat 
quickened by this story has consciously or unconsciously put himself in the 
place of Little Red Riding Hood. The little girl's anticipation of delight on 
seeing her grandmother; her surprise on seeing in bed a form so different 
from the one she had expected to see; the gradually increasing feeling of fear 
as she realized her danger; and all this culminating in despair, — what reader 
of this old tale has not relived all this experience as he has imagined himself 
going successfully through the adventures which befell the little heroine of 
our childhood days? 

As teachers we must ever bear in mind the enlargement which this sub- 
jective view gives. It means that all these images, these pictures in the mind, 
the sensory impressions, — in a word, the imaginative concepts, — find their 
basis in experience. Imagination takes these experiences, enlarges, reduces, 
readjusts, revamps; and out of the old emerges the new. Oftentimes the 
spirit of a passage allows us to take a simple repeopling or recostuming creates 
the proper effect. By way of illustration let me read a portion of a theme 

134 



written a few weeks ago by one of our pupils while we were studying The 
Idylls of the King. The assignment was of a general character, — the members 
of the class were asked to note any particular passage that appealed to them 
and to write of the thoughts that were suggested. I quote only a part of the 
paper: 

"It is stormy tonight, and in spite of all my efforts the dismal howling 
of the wind has crept into my mood and left me sad and lonely. In such a 
humor my imagination is keenest, and as I read Gareth and Lynelte I am 
carried from present to past, and from past to present with hardly a break. 
The scenes were almost as vivid as were those when we sat around the fire- 
light looking up into grandmother's face listening to her wonderful 'really, 
truly, sure-enough' Indian stories. 

Gareth, in a showerful spring 
Stared at the spate. 

There is nothing that can have quite the same effect upon me as looking at 
the Ohio when it is flooded. To see that mass of water boiling, bubbling, 
seething, swirling in eddies and currents, sweeping everything before it, and 
to realize that no power on earth can turn it back, stirs me to my very soul. 
It is not strange to me that Gareth had such thoughts as he did when he 
stared at the spate." 

When the student wrote that paragraph and read it in class next morning 
it was not necessary for me to ask her the meaning of the word spate. She 
knew it, and she knew it not merely as an isolated intellectual fact; she had 
in fancy transferred her experience to Arthur's realm, and for the moment 
she was linking her personality with the gallant Gareth as he looked down 
upon the flood. 

It is just such experiences as this which make the subjective message 
vital. Whether this message come in the form of story, essay, or poem, the 
method is the same. The objective message of the writer is interpreted, 
vivified, and reformed by the subjective mind of the reader. The struggles 
of the character are the reader's struggles, and all the victories and the defeats 
are thus vicariously shared. Sympathy is generated, and views of life en- 
larged, and the reader begins to feel his kinship with the universal heart of 
mankind. 

May I add in conclusion that I assume that it is apparent to all, that the 
comprehension of the objective and the subjective meanings of literature is 
not in ordinary life distinctly differentiated? Nor is it to be supposed that 
they would, under al: conditions, be mutually exclusive. It is merely for 
purposes of analysis and intelligent apperception that we consider them 
separately. We are to understand that the great province of literature is 
the interpretation of life. The literary sensation will produce upon each mind 
which receives it a slightly different percept, depending upon the fabric and 
the experience of the receiving individuality. And yet, the general tone and 
temperament of human souls have so much in common that there is a wide 
gamut of general appeal. As we progress from infancy to maturity, our tastes 
and our capacities are in constant evolution. As teachers we must study 

135 



these changes in our pupils, and offer in each progressive period the sort of 
literary pabulum which will best secure the existing mental grasp and best 
incite the healthy reach. With growing strength and tenser fibre the mental 
power expands and the varying emotions find freer expression. The counter- 
play of life and literature grows more interesting, and each becomes a helpful 
interpreter of the other. Literature reveals its warnings, its encouragements, 
its wisdom, its humors, and its beauties; and life absorbs these to its ultimate 
growth and good. It is to this great task — this task so rich in possibilities 
for the pupil's enrichment — that we English teachers have pledged our devo- 
tion. Who is there among us that will not be willing to pray the prayer 
which John Milton prayed in preparing for his epic? 

What in me is dark 

Illumine, what is low raise and support. 

In teaching literature we shall make earnest endeavor to increase the 
student's power to perceive the objective meaning of the literary message in 
order that there may come, coincident with this, a fuller conception of the 
subjective message. And all this we shall do in the faith that this expansion 
of intellect and emotion means the constant expansion of character. (43) 



(43) Thomas, pp. 1-18. 



136 



CONTRIBUTION IV. 

THE GENETIC VIEWPOINT IN LANGUAGE TEACHING. 

According to the greatest modern historian of antiquity, the earliest 
accurate' date in ancient history is the 19th of July, 4241 B. C, when a feast 
was held in Egypt to celebrate the founding of the calendar. We know this 
date from testimony more reliable than would be the word of any writer or 
any dozen writers, from the witness of the heavens. By astronomical knowl- 
edge of ecHpses alone, we can go back for thousands of years and tell the exact 
date of a battle when the general himself did not know the day of the month. 
We get time history out of stones which our grandfathers accepted as miraculous 
and our fathers dismissed as fables. * * * The archeological discoveries of the 
last 50 years taught us more of ancient history than had the preceding 1000 
years. 

Not only, however, in regard to events of what we call ancient history 
has there been a quickening of interest and an increase of knowledge. We 
are continually going back. We are asking about the entire period of man's 
existence in the earth, and the science of prehistoric archeology is beginning 
to answer our questions. As has been pointed out by a great modern scholar: 
"In sketching the human period, the old way was to place the vanishing point 
at the dawn of history". This explains why many a so-called history of the 
world covers only about 6,000 years. "But", he says, "this resulted in a 
false perspective. The researches of the archeologists have made it possible 
to correct the error by shifting the vanishing-point to the prehistoric horizon". 
Conservative estimates take more than 500,000 years as the period covered 
by human life; history covers 6,000. But what was man doing during the 
previous milleniums of silence? Do we get the important facts, we may well 
ask, in our history of these short 6,000 years, and was nothing accomplished 
worthy to be remembered or possible to be discovered in the incomprehensible 
lapse of time before the establishment of the calendar? Sure among the great 
benefactors of the human race we should count those nameless men who 
first mastered fire and made it their household servant, the men who took 
the sharp rocks and forced from them a defense against dangerous beasts 
and a means of securing food. They tamed the wild ox and the horse, the 
sheep and the goat, and left their caves and dens and came to live in the 
plains, surrounded by peaceful herds; they found the wild wheat and the wild 
rice and separated the cereals from the weeds and brot them home and made 
them better, they conquered a soil hitherto unbroken and made it a mine of 
wealth. From the beasts who threatened their lives they took skins and made 
clothing to protect themselves against the cold and sewed skins with needles 
made from bones. 

But long before these achievements there was a greater. Naturalists tell 
us that the wild dog of the forest has only one or two notes as compared with 
the whine, whimper, howl, yelp, bark, and growl of the domesticated animal. 

137 



And these early men, we must believe, could express their wants only by 
gestures and inarticulate cries. In time, however, our ancestors passed 
beyond the stage of gesture language, made gradual additions to the primitive 
stock of natural sounds, gave names to objects and actions of common life, 
and little by little found out how to tell the story of the hunt so that those 
at home could see the wild ox as he fell, and by a wonderful process, more 
marvelous than the invention of the telephone or telegraph, wrought out 
speech and languages which, when history came, could be used to record it. 
We think of our modern age as the one of great inventions and discoveries; 
but nothing in recent times can compare in importance with the discovery 
of fire and the invention of language. There is no period of history, however 
brilliant or advanced or interesting, which has for me the fascination of those 
twilight centuries when men were learning what it means to talk. 

And how can we know anything of this period? There are various ways: 
partly through science of archeology already mentioned, which leads back 
thru the Greek and Roman and other early civilizations to the cave homes of 
prehistoric times. An exceedingly interesting account of the recent discoveries 
in France, Spain, and elsewhere has just been published in book form. And 
along with archeology goes prehistoric anthropology, which reconstructs 
primitive man from skull and a few bones. The other sciences, too, are 
helping. A few years ago I heard a botanist tell of the recent discovery after 
years of search, of the wild ancestor to our wheat, I felt the thrill that would 
come to one who caught a glimpse through a window opening into the early 
ages of the world. 

And we can learn still more through language. The small boy who 
would know how the clock was made watches his chance to take the clock to 
pieces and look it over for himself; and then perhaps he knows. We who are 
fascinated by this riddle of riddles as to how primitive man secured one of the 
most vital and necessary of all his possessions — the one which particularly 
distinguished him from other animals, — the power to communicate his thots to 
another mind first came with thrilling zest to take to pieces our own language, 
and we find that it goes back to the Norman-French, here to Germanic, here 
it runs off to Slavic, and here it has preserved a bit of Celtic, and here it is 
Latin, and here it is Greek, and we take these all to pieces and the interest 
grows and the thrills increase, for as we go farther back we are coming nearer 
to the heart of things. When Sir Wm. Jones in 1786 discovered the Sanscrit 
language he made it possible for those who come after him to understand far 
more about the growth and development of language in general than any 
grammarian in Europe, however painstaking, had ever known before. When 
a scholar a few years later undertook to reconstruct the language of the early 
inhabitants of Europe and even translating two fables into primitive Indo- 
European, his zeal carried him too far. Yet it still remains that little by 
little the history of the development of primitive language is being written 
from the study of other languages; and if the discovery of the wild ancestor 
of the wheat gives linguists a thrill, it is a thrill of enthusiasm arising partly 
at least from the suggestion that there is a path that may lead us to the wild 
ancestor of the dative case. Psychology needs to know the workings of the 

138 



mind of man, and perhaps it is by linguistic psychology or the psychological 
study of the facts of grammar working back thru the ancient languages that 
we can approximate this. 

The study of literature is entertaining, inspiring, and ennobling. But 
the study of language is not literature merely or at all. Language must be 
regarded as a mere tool. It is itself a manifestation of the social consciousness 
of a people, on a par with religion, customs and laws. The comparative or 
the historical study of language is a study of the development of thought and 
modes of thinking at various times and among various peoples. As a simple 
illustration of the development of a small part of one language, we can see 
plainly, in Latin, certain forms of certain verbs (licet), for example, losing their 
verbal force and coming to be conjunctions. Others like ("vel"), have 
already completely lost their verbal force. We can, then, perhaps work back 
to the time where there were no conjunctions at all. The study of language 
including linguistics and its sister sciences is turning its carefully constructed 
telescope toward those distant regions where pronouns first came into being, 
where genders differentiated themselves, where the difference between singular 
and plural first seemed of sufficient importance to be expressed, where the 
passive voice and the various modes and tenses of the verb and cases of the 
noun began, like the first animals in Milton's account of creation, to struggle 
upward into life. 

And so the study of language even in its simple beginnings is a preparation, 
if one wants to make it so, for the rapture of pursuing the mind of man back 
and back to its primitive lair. Exceedingly illuminating and suggestive to 
me was the remark of a professor: "We are now using prehistoric Aryan as 
it has been modified by everyday use. Latin (think of this as you are teaching 
it) is the prehistoric language. There has been throughout a perfect con- 
tinuity of intelligibility." Latin, for instance, is only a portion of the bridge 
reaching from the first rude attempts at communication made by primitive 
man to the complex expression of complex mental processes in use by scholars 
of today. I cannot help thinking that a little of the wonder, interest and 
enthusiasm that comes to students of biology as they are initiated into the 
secrets of physical life and development will be felt by those who are teaching 
and studying it * * *. We value many of our possessions because of their 
potentialities; and our interest and pleasure are not conditioned by the prob- 
ability or the possibility of these potentialities ever being called into actual 
use by ourselves. The fact that only a very few of our students will ever 
continue their study of ancient language into the graduate school will cer- 
tainly not keep a little Latin from meaning more to them if they see the vista 
into which it opens. (27) 



(27) Nye, p. 428. 



139 



CONTRIBUTION V. 

ON THE SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL. 

How Words Influence the Passions. 

Now, as words affect, not by original power, but by representation, it 
might be supposed, that th'eir influence over the passions should be but light; 
yet it is quite otherwise; for we find by experience, that eloquence and poetry 
are as capable, nay indeed more capable, of making deep and lively impressions 
than any other art, and even than nature itself in many cases. And this 
arises chiefly from three causes. First, that we take an extraordinary part 
in the passions of others, and that we are easily affected and brought into 
sympathy by any tokens which are shown them; and there are no tokens 
which can express afl the circumstances of most passions so fully as words; 
so that if a person speaks upon any subject, he can not only convey the subject 
to you, but likewise the manner in which he is himself affected by it. Cer- 
tain it is, that the influence of most things on our passions is not so much from 
the things themselves, as from our opinions concerning them; and these again 
depend very much on the opinions of other men, conveyable for the most part 
by words only. Secondly, there are many things of a very affecting nature, 
which can seldom occur in the reality, but the words that represent them 
often do; and thus they have an opportunity of making a deep impression 
and taking root in the mind, whilst the idea of the reality was transient; and 
to some perhaps never really occurred in any shape, to whom it is notwith- 
standing very affecting, as war, death, famine, etc. Besides, many ideas have 
never been at all presented to the senses of any men but by words, as God, 
angels, devils, heaven, and hell, all of which have however a great influence 
over the passions. Thirdly, by words we have it in our power to make such 
combinations as we cannot possibly do otherwise. By this power of com- 
bining, we are able, by the addition of well chosen circumstances, to give a 
new life and force to the simple object. In painting we may represent any 
fine figure we please; but we never can give it those enlivening touches which 
it may receive from words. To represent an angel in a picture, you can only 
draw a beautiful young man winged; but what painting can furnish out any- 
thing so grand as the addition of one word, "the angel of the Lord"? It is 
true, I have here no clear idea; but these words affect the mind more than the 
sensible image did; which is all I contend for. A picture of Priam dragged 
to the altar's foot, and there murdered, if it were well executed, would un- 
doubtedly be very moving; but there are many aggravating circumstances, 
which it could never represent. 

"sanguine foedantem quos ipse sacraverat ignes." 



140 



As a further instance, let us consider those lines of Milton, where he 
describes the travels of the fallen angels through their dismal habitation: 

" — O'er many a dark and dreary vale 
They passed, and many a region dolorous; 
O'er many a frozen, many a fiery Alp; 
Rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs, dens, and shades of death, 
A universe of death. — " 
Here is displayed the force of union in 

"Rocks, caves, lakes, dens, bogs, fens, and shades;" 
which yet would lose the greatest part of their effect, if they were not the 
"Rocks, caves, lakes, dens, bogs, fens, and shades — of Death." 

This idea of this affection caused by a word, which nothing but a word 
could annex to the others, raises a very great degree of the sublime; and this 
sublime is raised yet higher by what follows, a "universe of Death." Here 
are again two ideas not presentable but by language; and an union of them 
great and amazing beyond conception; if they may properly be calied ideas 
which present no distinct image to the mind: — but still it will be difficult to 
conceive how words can move the passions which belong to real objects, 
without representing these objects clearly. This is difficult to us, because 
we do not sufficiently distinguish, in our observations upon language, between 
a clear expression and a stroiig expression. These are frequently confounded 
with each other, though they are in reality extremely different. The former 
regards the understanding; the latter belongs to the passions. The one 
describes a thing as it is; the latter describes it as it is felt. Now, as there 
is a moving tone of voice, an impassioned countenance, an agitated gesture, 
which affect independently of the things about which they are exerted, so 
there are words, and certain disposition of words, which being peculiarly 
devoted to passionate subjects, and always used by those who are under the 
influence of any passion, touch and move us more than those which far more 
clearly and distinctly express the subject matter. We yield to sympathy 
what we refuse to description. The truth is, all verbal description, merely 
as naked description, though never so exact, conveys so poor and insufficient 
an idea of the thing described, that it could scarcely have the smallest effect, 
if the speaker did not call in to his aid those modes of speech that mark a 
strong and lively feeling in himself. Then, by the contagion of our passions, 
we catch a fire already kindled in another, which probably might never have 
been struck out by the object described. Words, by strongly conveying the 
passions, by those means which we have already mentioned, fully compensate 
for their weakness in other respects. It may be observed, that very polished 
languages, and such are praised for their superior clearness arid perspicuity, 
are generally deficient in strength. The French language has that perfection 
and defect, whereas the Oriental tongues, and in general the languages of most 
unpolished people, have a great force and energy of expression; and this is 
but natural. Uncultivated people are but ordinary observers of things, and 

141 



not critical in distinguishing them; but, for that reason, they admire more, 
and are more affected with what they see, and therefore express themselves 
in a warmer and more passionate manner. If the affection be well conveyed, 
it will work its effect without any idea at all of the thing which has originally 
given rise to it. 

It might be expected from the fertility of the subject, that I should con- 
sider poetry, as it regards the sublime and beautiful, more at large; but it 
must be observed that in this light it has been often and well handled already. 
It was not my design to enter into the criticism of the sublime and beautiful 
in any art, but to attempt to lay down such principles as may tend to ascertain, 
to distinguish, and to form a sort of standard for them; which purposes I 
thought might be best effected by an inquiry into the properties of such things 
in nature, as raise love and astonishment in us; and by showing in what 
manner they operated to produce these passions. Words were only so far to 
be considered, as to show upon what principle they were capable of being 
the representatives of these natural things, and by what powers they were 
able to affect us often as strongly as the things they represent, and sometimes 
much more strongly." (5) 



(5) Burke, p. 97. 



142 



CONTRIBUTION VI. 
WORD-COINAGE AND MODERN TRADE-NAMES. 

I. 

All the world seems to feel at liberty at the present time to coin words 
for use as trade-names, generally without regard for orthodox methods of 
word-creation, or for the general linguistic acceptability of the term thus 
brought into being. * * * 

The general desire of the projectors of new trade-names is to hit upon 
something that will impress itself on the memory of prospective buyers of 
their goods. The sole test of a proposed word seems to be its effectiveness as 
advertising. Beyond dispute, an apt or a striking name for a newly invented 
article will go far to promote sales. * * * 

One type of trade-name much in vogue at present, that created by the 
process known as "blending", no doubt owes its success, in whole or in part, 
to the popularity of the "portmanteau word" passage in Lewis Carroll's 
Through the Looking Glass, where the author illustrates the convenience of 
making one word serve the purpose of several by the process of telescoping 
them into one, e. g., galumphing, from galloping and triumphing, mimsy from 
miserable and flimsy. * * * Scientific nomenclatures, names for electrical en- 
gineering appliances, and the Uke, are left out of account in the material here 
presented. * * * 

II. 

TRADE-TERMS FROM PROPER NAMES AND PLACE-NAMES. 

Not strictly "coinages" are trade-names arising from the use of the 
surname of some inventor or manufacturer, or derived from the name of some 
celebrity, or from some place-name; nevertheless they deserve treatment in 
the discussion of word-creation in commercial nomenclature. They become 
words new in the sense that they lose their original force as proper or place- 
names and assume recognized meaning as names of things. They are likely 
to differ from other trade-names in that they less often are deliberately fixed 
upon and launched in their new meaning with the first appearance of the 
article so designated; their currency arises gradually, through association. 
To cite examples from place-names, worsted was first manufactured at an 
English village of that name. Other similar names for fabrics are Worcester, a 
■ fine grade of woolen cloth, calico, cambric, kersey, mechlin. Many varieties 
of wines take their names from places. Most interesting among these is 
s/ierrr/, originally shipped from Xeres in Spain, the Roman Caesaris urbs. * * * 

Some nineteenth century American commercial terms originating from 
surnames are the following: barlow, or barlow knife, a certain type of one- 
bladed jackknife, named from its American maker, bloomers, a costume worn 
by American women in gymnasium practice, so called after Mrs. Amelia 
Bloomer, who sought to introduce them. * * * 

The derivation of trade-terms directly from proper names or place-names 
is at present time not very frequent. 

143 



III. 

SHORTENINGS AND EXTENSIONS. 

One kind of the commonest methods employed in the contemporary 
creation of new commercial terms is to shorten, to extend, or to modify, gener- 
ally according to some pattern already set, words descriptive in a telling way 
of the article to be named. Patterns fluctuate more or less in popularity, 
and endings are various. At present,-o, little used not long ago, seems to 
be held in special favor. * * * 

In addition to those cited below, many other coinages showing the -o 
suffix are listed under hyphenated names (VII) and under blends (IX). 

Alabasco wall paint, made at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Indestrudo 
baggage, i. e., trunks and suit cases, made at Mishewaka, Indiana. * * * 

The same suffix, -o, separated by a hyphen, capitalized, and associating 
itself with the interjection, appears in: 

Jell-o Ice Cream Powder, made by the Genesee Pure Food Company, 
LeRoy, New York; and Glad-o for inflamed feet, made at Lincoln, 
Nebraska. * * * 

IV. 

DIMINUTIVES. 

The diminutive suffixes -let and -ette are now much in favor. Occasion- 
ally, in modern commercial use, the latter ending has the pejorative force of 
'imitation' or 'sham', as in leatherette, imitation leather for upholstery, or 
Brussellette carpet, but ordinarily the force is merely diminutive. 

Wheatlet, "monarch of cereals". The Franklin Company, Lockport, New 
York. Carlarrlefs, antiseptic tablets; also Dyspeplets, made by the C. I. Hood 
Company, Lowell, Massachusetts. * * * 



COMPOUNDS. 

For the names of many articles, striking compounds are formed, describing 
or eulogizing that which is to be designated. The elements in such names 
are not new, but the combination is new; or the combination in its appearance 
as a distinct word. * * * 

Palmolive soap, made at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Waxit floor finish, made 
at Minneapolis. Underfeed Warm Air Furnaces "cut coal bills", made at 
Cincinnati, Ohio. * * * 

VI. 

NAMES SHOWING DISGUISED OR FANCY SPELLINGS. 

More popular than the preceding class are names formed by much the 
same manner of composition but spelled in simplified, disguised or ingeniously 
modified ways, likely to make them more rememberable. An effective pioneer 
among names of this class is Uneeda biscuit (Uneeda cigar in England) made 
by the National Biscuit Company, followed by Takhoma biscuit, made by the 
same company, and by Partaka biscuit. * * * 



144 



VII. 

HYPHENATIONS. 

Names strikingly hyphenated are especially likely to catch the eye, and 
may be formed in various ways. They include shortenings, hybrid forms, 
and blends. * * * Hy-Tex face brick, sold at Lincoln, Nebraska. * * * 

VIII. 

BLENDS. 

These play a notably important part in the current naming of articles in 
trade. * * * 

Blending is now an orthodox method for the formation of names of com- 
pounds in chemistry and other sciences, e. g., chloroform, formaldehyde, 
dextrose, bromal, zincode. * * * 

For most of the blends cited below, the parent words are too obvious 
to need indication: * * * 

Jap-A-Lac, a varnish, made at Cleveland, Ohio: from Japanese and 
shellac, or laquer. Everlastik, i. e., everlasting elastic, made at Boston. 
Cuticura skin remedy: from cuticle and cure. * * * 

IX. 

BLENDS BUILT FROM NAMES. 

Not so common a decade or more ago but in high favor at present are 
terms built from the names of the man forming a company, or from the name 
of the company itself, or the name of the city or the district which is the 
location of the manufacture. A pioneer venture of this type was the Nabisco 
wafer, made by the National Biscuit Company, the success of which probably 
set the type for similar formations. * * * 



TRADE-NAMES BUILT FROM INITIALS. 

Sometimes employed, when the result makes a usable word, is the method 
of building new terms from the initials of the maker, or inventor, or of the 
company engaged in manufacture. * * * a few illustrations are these: 

The Reo automobile, made by the R. E. Olds Company, known as the 
Reo Motor Car Company, of Lansing, Michigan. Olds was also the designer 
of the Oldsmobile. Sebco extension drills, made by the Star Expansion and 
Bolt Company. * * * 

XI. 

ARBITRARY NEW FORMATIONS. 

The following names are mostly meaningless. They appear to be arbitrary 
creations rather than modifications or combinations of other words. The 
stock examples of an invented word is gas, created by the discoverer of gas. 
Van Helmont; and many of the words listed here may be no less arbitrarily 
coined. * * * 



145 



XII. 

MISCELLANEOUS FORMATIONS. 

The following terms, of various patterns, may be grouped together for 
convenience; although they have little in common save their facetious 
quality. * * * 

Colorite straw renovator, made at Boston. The Aeolian orcheslrelle, of 
Aeolian Hall, London. Wheatena breakfast food. Dentyne chewing gum, for 
the teeth. Limetta, a drink for sale at soda fountains. * * * 

XIII. 

Peculiar to the later nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries, the 
"florescence-time" for advertising in the world's history, is such untrammelled 
and prolific invention of trade terms, such variety and abundance of coinage, 
as the foregoing pages have exemplified. It may be of interest to recall in 
contrast the general style of commercial nomenclature prevailing in the 
eighteenth century, when advertising was in its infancy, and to note the 
divergence between that period and our own in the name-seeker's idea of what 
might be counted upon to have popular appeal. The following specimens of 
eighteenth century trade-names are from the advertisements in the Spectator. 
They show no arbitrarily invented words, unless the not illegitimate Jatropoton, 
presumably from the name of the botanical genus Jatropha. The motley and 
audacious terms of our own day seem capricious and undignified indeed, along- 
side the formal designations created by our ancestors. There is approximately 
the same difference in the taste of the two centuries in commercial terms that 
exists between the prose manner of writers like O. Henry and his followers 
and that of the authors of the De Coverley Papers. 

R. Stoughton's great Cordial Elixir, famous throughout Europe — ** *The 
famous Italian Water for Dying Red and Grey Hairs * * * Brown or Black. 
— * * * The famous Spanish Blacking for Gentlemen's Shoes. * * * 

We constantly need designations for new articles of dress, of food, of house- 
furnishing, and the like; and now, as in the days of the Spectator, we have 
advertisements of novel medicines and remedies of all kinds, for which ex- 
travagant claims are made. But the "drops" and "cordials" and "tinctures" 
and "elixirs" which our ancestors craved are now out of favor. Such names 
are too conventional to prove effective upon the posters, or the signs, or in 
the columns of newspapers, of the twentieth century. Ours— so long as 
present vogue continues — seems to be word-creation or word-manipulation, as 
it were, with the lid oflf. Where our ancestors were content with conservatism 
and monotony, the present day reveals a fluctuating and bewilderirtg variety 
of commercial terms without apparent limits of kind or quantity. (28) 



(28) Pound, pp. 29-41. 



146 



CONTRIBUTION VII. 
CULTURAL AND VOCATIONAL. 

"It would be difficult to appraise the injury done to the cause of sound 
education by the fact that abstract theory counts for so much, and concrete 
experience for so little, in the regulation of the school curriculum. When the 
experimental psychologists announce the "discovery that formal discipline 
is not a factor of value in education," the new doctrine was hailed with acclaim 
on all sides. Even teachers of the classics felt constrained to yield assent. 
For had not the "experts" spoken? 

The fact that this theory is flatly contravened by the facts of every day 
observation and experience seems to have interfered little with its vogue. It 
did its baleful work in weakening the backbone of the school system, and now, 
on the basis of additional experiments, the psychologists are obliged to admit 
that the facts do not at all substantiate their earlier "discovery". 

The movement in favor of vocational training in the schools threatened 
at first to take the form of another unreasoning stampede. But already 
there are signs of returning sanity. Three facts in particular are coming to 
be rather generally recognized: (1) vocational training of the right kind 
should find a place in many schools; (2) it will be a fatal mistake if vocational 
studies are allowed to crowd cultural subjects from the curriculum; (3) much 
vocational training (as now conducted) is a practical failure. 

Few would challenge the first of these propositions, and it is only neces- 
sary to talk with principals and school superintendents to be convinced of 
the truth of the third. The failure of vocational training— where it is a 
failure — is due to various causes. In some cases the course of instruction is 
not adequate and practical — it does not really prepare the student for par- 
ticipation in the world's industrial life. Again, the student may be too im- 
mature to profit by the course. Time that could better be spent on general 
education he wastes on work that he could master more quickly and more 
surely if the study were postponed to a period of greater maturity. 

This last point is of special importance, in view of the fact that a some 
what general movement is now on foot to carry back the beginning of "high- 
school" work to the seventh grade (six-six and six-three-three plans). For 
taking up the study of a foreign language, a child is at his best in the seventh 
grade; and if it be true that he is not mature enough at that time for really 
effective vocational training, the claims of certain cultural subjects at that 
time are obvious. 

It is, however, the second of the three propositions laid down above, 
that is of most importance to the teacher of the classics. We must admit 
that in many schools a place should be found for vocational training; but in 
season and out of season, it will be necessary to press home the even more im- 
portant truth that room must be made in the curriculum for vocational training 
as an addition — such courses must not be allowed to displace cultural subjects 

UT 



from the school program. There are already very hopeful signs that the 
justice of this contention is being recognized in very diverse quarters. In the 
San Francisco Chronicle for August 21st, touching the discussions at the late 
meeting of the National Educational Association, a contributor, who speaks 
from the point of view of an industrial worker, indulges in some reflections 
that are worth quoting here. After some pointed and sarcastic remarks on 
the theorists who propose to solve industrial problems out of hand though 
they themselves have never "done a real day's labor for a real day's pay in 
their philanthropically emotional lives", this writer proceeds: 

' 'Running side by side with the agitator's fears for the workers who are 
subjected to such monotonous labor is the agitation for vocational training in 
the schools that will, as early as possible, develop mechanical skill in the 
children who must become workers in the industrial world. "Why teach 
'em flubdub and fallals", they demand, "when efficiency is what they 
require?" And they want the vocational substituted for the academic training 
as a matter of economy. 

Upon this point Mrs. Ella Flagg Young has spoken at the National 
Educational Association convention a warning — or a plea — that might well 
be given a little serious consideration. She is opposed to the introduction of 
vocational training as a substitute for the cultural — not to vocational training 
in itself, remember. She is not in favor of turning out human beings from 
the public school that are merely mechanically efficient — that are trained 
only to be workers. She holds that the public schools should prepare them 
for the living a broader fuller life than the life of the workshop, and that they 
should give them that preparation because they must become workers in the 
workshop. 

It may be that Mrs. Ella F. Young is right. At any rate it would do no 
harm to think over the relation of education to the industrial situation from 
Mrs. Y's point of view. * * * Any of us know what it is to work (to hold 
down a job) * * * know also that it isn't what we do during our working 
hours that matters so much as what we do outside of our working hours. The 
working day is only part of a day, and there are opportunities and possibilities 
for study, for acquiring knowledge, for cultivating talents, for learning how to 
play, * * * if the worker has a mind for them, and the will to avail himself 
of them. * * * The whole interesting world of fact and speculation, of beauty 
and art, is open to the worker at any occupation if he have the impulse to 
invade it — and the key to it. 

It is the key to it that Mrs. Young is contending for. If you do not 
open the door to the public child who must enter the industrial world and 
become a worker at the monotonous work our progress imposes, how is he 
going to know what lies within reach? How is he going to escape the stunting 
and atrophying and brutalizing; how become immune to the coarse and de- 
basing temptations that assail the ignorant? 

It would seem — inasmuch as the industrial world offers what it does — ^that 
the child especially needs whatever the public school can give it that will teach 
it how to study and how to play; and how to make the best mind and body^ 
and thus to make the best of life." 

148 



If the leaders in school education are fully alive to the absolute need of 
conserving the cultural elements of the high school curriculum, and if the 
man in the shop and factory feels the desirability of having the children 
trained for something more than mere manual efficiency, it only remains for 
us to insist that this program be carried out. At this point continual watch- 
fulness will be required; for it sometimes happens that cultural elements are 
eliminated from the high school curriculum in a very insidious way, and 
without any real intent on the part of those who control the school 
program." (26) 



(26) Nutting, pp. 65-6 



149 



CONTRIBUTION VIII. 

GRAVE DANGERS OF SPECIALIZATION. 

"There is a lack of unity of purpose and lack of sympathy in the handling 
of expression in schools which grows out of the fact that both the man of 
science and the teacher of English are specialists. Illustration after illustra- 
tion of this highly specialized interest can be found in the current literature 
which deals with the teaching of English in the high school. There is a con- 
spicuous illustration of this in Mr. Percival Chubb's book, "The Teaching of 
English".' The book sets forth in vigorous terms the desirability of more 
training in English in the high schools and the elementary school. In his 
effort to define the general purpose of English during the adolescent period, 
Mr. Chubb says on page 239 that one of the main divisions of literature which 
should receive attention in the secondary school is that which deals with 
vocational subjects. He reviews enthusiastically the position taken by G. 
Stanley Hall, that the vast majority of high school graduates should get social 
training through the vernacular. They should be given that kind of reading 
and opportunity for expression which will prepare them for social and personal 
life in vocations. One reads this part of the book with great interest, and 
assurhes that now, at least, we have reached the point where the vocations 
are to receive adequate attention from the English teachers. He goes on 
through the book, and, to his astonishment, finds that all the references to 
books that are actually to be used are of the conventional literary type. There 
is not mentioned in the whole volume a single book of a strictly technical 
type. The specialist in English literature has once more shown that he does 
not have any idea of his duty to the vernacular in general. One is reminded 
of the story told by the high school principal, who, after urging his English 
teachers to put in some vocational reading, encountered a teacher glowing 
with enthusiasm because of her success in complying with his suggestion. 
She was reading "Silas Marner" with her class, and since Silas was a weaver, 
she was introducing vocational ideas at the same time that she satisfied the 
college-entrance requirements. 

PROBLEMS OF LITERATURE. 

From the discussion of modes of expression we turn to a discussion of 
that phase of English which is designed as literature. The business of the 
class exercises and study in literature is to cultivate appreciation. There is 
a certain mysticism in the minds of many teachers about appreciation. Taste 
is proverbially a purely personal and quite inexplicable trait. The power of 
appreciation is accordingly said to rest on subconscious judgments which are 
very vivid but quite incapable of communication. Such statements regard- 
ing the nature of the process of appreciation are, of course, a challenge to the 
psychologist. Appreciation is a mental process and is capable of training 



iPublished by The Macmillan Company, 1909 
150 



under guidance, while to some extent it seems to mature without direct guid- 
ance. Our problem is to discover what is the mental and psychological mech- 
anism involved in appreciation, and thus to throw light on the methods of its 
training. In other words, it is here, as always, the business of psychology to 
refuse to be satisfied with mysticism. Appreciation must be analyzed and 
explained. " 

REACTIONS TO CONTENT. 

Appreciation of rhythm, of structural facts, and of style constitute what 
we may call the pure forms of rhetorical appreciation. There is an entirely 
different sphere of appreciation. A literary passage is appreciated by the 
trained reader for its content as well as for its form. Appreciation of content 
is in essence the same kind of a mental process as the appreciation of form. 
Content is enjoyed just in the degree in which the individual's habits of re- 
action are satisfied by the impulses aroused by what he reads. Or to put the 
matter in a negative example, an individual can appreciate fully an emotion 
which is expressed in a poem only after he has had some real experience capable 
of arousing in him modes of response appropriate to the sentiment expressed 
in the poem. Take, for example, such a poem as Whittier's "Barefoot Boy." 
It is sometimes assumed that because this poem is about a boy it ought to 
be given to boys to read. It is assumed that boys will be aroused by the 
sentiment which the author experienced when he contrasted the boy and his 
simple surroundings and possessions with the unhappy man of wealth who is 
deprived of all the physical enjoyments which the barefoot boy enjoys. The 
fact is, of course, that an ordinary boy who has had the privilege of going 
barefooted has probably never had the remotest approach to that 
emotional recoil against luxury experienced by the man of wealth who 
rides in his carriage. In other words, the barefoot boy cannot appreciate 
the discomforts of uxury which are described to him because the description 
arouses in him no response. In order to have the contrast which is in the 
poet's mind, he must have maturity of experience and the recoil of disappoint- 
ment. To the ordinary boy no such contrast in experience is possible. He 
sees the matter only from one uniform level of meager personal experience, 
and this leaves him without any possible appreciation of the Author's point 
of view. 

What has been said in connection with this example is frequently stated 
in discussions of appreciation when it is pointed out that one must have some 
contact with life before he can fully comprehend the meaning of literature. 
Undoubtedly one must have cultivated certain forms of emotional reaction 
and certain forms of interpreting experience before he can know what ideas 
mean. It is not that one needs merely to know words, one must know how 
to relate words to the larger experiences of life. Every individual word in 
the poem may be known to the barefoot boy. Every sentence may be capable 
of perfectly definite explanation, and yet one may have no appreciation what- 
soever of the sentiments which the phrases ought to bring up. The total 
situation is the mature product of many experiences. It is not even a matter 
of interpretation of a given sentence. There is undoubtedly a good deal of 
failure in the schools to appreciate this fact. We give literature to high school 

151 



students without any proper backing of personal experience to interpret the 
significance of the passage. The result is that the student's mind is concen- 
trated upon the purely formal side of the passage. He is absorbed in the 
words and in the sentences as they are presented on the page, and he fails to 
have any appreciation of the real significance of the passage because apprecia- 
tion in this case means a response of a large and mature type. It would be 
very much better in such cases to find passages which can be related to reac- 
tions of which the learner is capable. Not that the passages should forever 
remain below the level of present experience, merely depending on the ac- 
cumulations of the past to interpret what is now given; each passage read 
should refine the evaluations given to life's contrasts; each passage should 
bring out some new analogy and some worthy difference. But these new 
contributions to experience must be close enough to that which the individual 
now has, so that a real relation may be established in the learner's mind. 
Literary content must not merely be given. It must arouse a response. The 
student must feel the contrast or the agreement. He will thus be prepared 
to face in later life more elaborate comparisons and more elaborate inter- 
pretations. He cannot, on the other hand, be prepared for the later apprecia- 
tion of literature or for the relating of life and literature if the habits of mind 
which are cultivated in the schools are formal habits of attention to words 
and sentences. A strict attention to the text in such cases as this is likely 
to pervert rather than to aid the student's literary development. He gets 
a bad habit of thinking of poems and of prose passages as things in themselves, 
as groups of words, as occasions for barren rhetorical, grammatical, or analyt- 
ical drill." (20) 



(20) Judd, pp. 197-199. 



152 



CONTRIBUTION IX. 

NEED OF MORE REALITY IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION AND 
GRAMMAR. 

"What is needed in the interest of developing a curriculum content 
which may possess real significance to the pupils of the successive grades is 
a careful selection of those materials in the different elementary school subjects 
which ordinary, rank-and-file people in stores, on farms, and in factories find 
use for in successfully discharging their daily tasks. Out of this carefully 
selected content should be chosen, as necessity requires, those facts, ideas, 
principles, standards, and practices which will answer the questions, solve 
the problems, and supply the needs met by pupils. In other words, the needs 
of successful, mature persons engaged in the ordinary work of the world should 
determine the total content of each subject in the elementary curriculum, 
while the order in which pupils master this content should be determined by 
the order in which they have needs, questions, or problems which can be 
satisfactorily answered by the course of study materials. 

So far as the content of the course of study in Enghsh composition and 
grammar is concerned, therefore, it should provide for the teaching of those 
facts, habits, standards, and practices which those engaged in the successful 
pursuit of the ordinary work of the world find need for. Even common- 
sense observation enables us to study under the guidance of this selective 
standard. It is perfectly easy, for example, to distinguish between the abstract 
and concrete noun, between descriptive limiting, and limiting descriptive 
adjectives, between the adverbial ideas of time, place, manner, degree, condi- 
tion; but the distinctions when made add nothing to the equipment of any 
man to talk or write with greater accuracy or clearness. This lilt of non- 
functional material with which the teaching of language and grammar is en- 
cumbered might be indefinitely extended. 

Fortunately, we are not compelled to rely upon the data gathered from 
ordinary observation nor upon the judgment of mere common sense, because 
already one careful, scientific investigation into the functional material in the 
course of study in English composition and grammar has been made, and its 
results have been verified by three careful additional studies in Columbia, 
Missouri; Bonham, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan. In November, 1914, 
Dean W. W. Charters of the University of Missouri, with the assistance of 
Miss Edith Miller of the Soldan high school, St. Louis, began an investigation 
in the schools of Kansas City to determine upon the basis of the errors in the 
children's oral speech and in their written papers, the total errors which these 
children committed from the standpoint of accuracy in the use of language. 

As a basis of this study of the oral errors made by children the teachers 
throughout the schools, during one week in November, were alert to note 
every inaccurate expression used by any pupil, that the same might be reported 



153 



to those conducting the investigation. A tabulation of these mistakes revealed 
a total of twenty-one types of error. A few types of error are selected, as 
follows, for illustrative purposes: 

I. Subject of the verb not in the nominative case, as in "He and her 
was both late". "Her was sitting here". * * * 

II. Confusion of comparative and superlative, as in "Five larger cities". 
"The best of the two". * * * 

12. Double negative, as in "You don't care nothing for nobody". 
"Didn't done nothing". * * * 

As a basis for the study of the written errors made by children all of the 
written work which was not revised and corrected, done by the children in 
twelve schools during one school month, was submitted to critical examination 
for errors. A tabulation of these returns revealed all of the errors which had 
been found in the oral speech of the children and six additional ones, as follows: 

Omission of period at end of statement. 

Omission of question mark at end of question. 

Omission of apostrophe to denote possession. 

Omission of subject. 

Omission of predicate. 

Confusion of dependent and independent clauses. 
** ******* **** 

The study necessary to eliminate from his speech every type of error 
which Dean Charters has found in his investigations may be fundamentally 
motivated by reason of the fact that the errors occur in the efforts of children 
to express themselves when their energy is directed toward the accomplish- 
ment of something for which they feel a need. The relation between the 
elimination of the error and the subject-matter taught to correct it should 
be very clear to the pupils in the interest of rendering the subject-matter at 
all times not only real but attractive." (49) 



(49) Wilson, pp. 56-59. 



154 



CONTRIBUTION X. 

PURPOSES AND CONTENT OF THE ENGLISH COURSES.' 

"The English of the lower high school includes structural and cultural 
English; the study of the mother tongue, to the end of using it with vigor 
and ease; and the reading of noble literature, to the end of establishing a 
lasting desire for such reading. 

It is assumed that in the first cycle of six years the pupil, through imita- 
tion and habit, has become possessed of a correct and simple expression of the 
thoughts of childhood. Imitation and habit continue to be potent teachers 
in the seventh, eighth, and ninth years, and an attempt is made to create 
noticeable progress in correct usage by assigning to each semester a definite 
number of grammatical constructions of peculiar difficulty, of words easily 
misspelled, and of conventional forms of writing. 

The reasoning faculty, however, is now added to imitation and habit, 
for the pupil is at the right age to understand why one usage is correct and 
another incorrect. The same reasons that make this a good time for beginning 
the study of a foreign language make it an opportune time for analytical work 
in the use of the mother tongue. This introduction of the reasoning element 
distinguishes the language work of the lower high school from that of the 
first six years. The child has become a youth and craves self-conscious power 
in his use of English. 

Somewhere on the road between the simple activity of early school life 
and the viv.d, many-hued interests of the high school, pure spontaneous, 
creative imagination, except in a few cases, is lost. In all probability this 
change is wrought in the seventh or eighth years of the school life, and could 
largely be prevented by proper composition assignments. That type of 
pupil is the despair of high school teachers, who invariably asks when given a 
composition theme, "Where shall I read up about it?" The empty words of 
a perfunctory paper prove too clearly how atrophied the imagination has 
become. The ethical significance of such a state is comprehended when we 
reflect that most of the misunderstanding between -people of different classes 
and trades, even in America, is due to lack of imagination, rather than to 
intentional unkindness. It is right at this point, then, that the childish 
imagination, beginning to wane, must be resuscitated into social imagination 
and foresight. The pupil's composition exercises should be such as to neces- 
sitate his putting himself into the place of another or into some future place 
of his own. * * * 

Since the lower high school pupils are in no sense being trained as authors, 
the social aspects of their written and oral expression are of paramount im- 
portance. 



'The purposes, as well as a summary of the content, of the English courses which are being 
developed in the Berkeley schools to conform to the reorganization plan of the school system 
are set forth by Miss Fannie McLean, the department head. 

155 



The study of literature has two marks of distinction in the lower high 
school. First, the classroom reading of masterpieces becomes more intense, 
and therefore the number of selections smaller, while the home reading becomes 
broader and more varied. Secondly, the literary taste begins to take on a 
conscious development; the pupil, vaguely at first, and then more clearly, 
knows when he likes one piece of literature and not another, and struggles 
upward in awkward and touching attempts to express himself in the pic- 
turesque language or in the simple terseness of his favorite author, or to reach 
standards of admired excellence in his character. The boys become new 
Horatiuses, and long for bridges to cross; the girls are new Evangelines, and 
seek to add courage to gentleness; and boys and girls together live in a new 
world remote from their own, but strangely like it. This reading and the 
practically imaginative composition described in a previous paragraph unite 
in developing the imagination from childish crudity to social helpfulness. 

The masterpieces studied in the classroom are divided into three groups, 
satisfying three demands of the growing literary hunger of the youth, and 
harmonizing with the history course of study, so that literature has its historical 
background and history its literary expression. 

The first group comprises some early forms of literature, as the child's 
rightful human heritage. These are the simple, purely classical, and strongly 
imaginative forms; such as heroic epics, lays, and ballads. They are correlated 
with the study of world history. 

The second group comprises American poems, stories, speeches, and 
essays, as the child's rightful national heritage, in order to inculcate principles 
of good citizenship and intelligent pride in his country. This work is corre- 
lated with the study of United States history. 

The third group comprises English drama and romance as the child's 
rightful race heritage. Shakespeare and Scott are taken as the chief ex- 
ponents of this form of literature. The short story is made a part of this 
year's course, as it is also of the seventh and eighth years. 

If the pupil should leave school at the end of the lower high school, he 
would, through the classroom study of these masterpieces, and through his 
home reading from the supplementary list furnished, be well started on the 
road to culture. In other words, he would be in an attitude of mind con- 
ducive to further intelligent reading, because his interpretive and reasoning 
powers would have the beginnings of a comprehension of the relation of litera- 
ture to history as one of the most significant human products of a nation's 
civilization. And, best of all, contact with literature would have awakened, 
even at this early age, new ethical ideals, a social imagination, and a spirit 
of reverence for true greatness. 

If his schooling ends now, he has established a permanent friendship 
with books, which magazines and newspapers alone will not satisfy. But, 
to prevent his separating literature from life, and to enable him to see the 
fineness, the beauty and the opportuneness of our best periodical literature, 
magazine reading is made a part of the course. The expository literature 
of the day, as seen in the articles upon social and economic questions — 
city planning, children's playgrounds, George Junior Republic, and similar 

156 



topics — can be made use of, not only in relating the pupil to the best 
of the life of his time, but in showing him that the style of a piece is of 
service to the cause presented. In this he sees a practical reason for the 
study of English. He learns that such study is needed to perfect a social 
being and to make of him a citizen of the world. 

In the upper high school the problem is a different one from that of the 
lower high school. Here the boys and girls are not only preparing to be 
potentialities in the business world and social life, but they already feel them- 
selves to be a part of that life. The tide of the greater outside world flows 
through the high school, and though it is there only in creeks and bays, it is 
the same salt and tonic element that pervades the ocean outside. The high 
school pupils have their party strifes and prejudices, their social gatherings, 
their student government, their public press, their dramatic entertainments. 
The problem that presents itself to the English department is this: How can 
the literature and composition be made to fix the attention of the pupils on 
the permanent soul of beauty and excellence underlying these "shows" of 
things, and also equip them with the means of moving with confident ease 
and power in the life of their fellows? How can we widen their vistas of life 
and make attractive to them the enduring ideals of humanity? If the study 
of English can make them self-poised individuals and social centers in the 
school life, they will continue to be such, whether they are graduated from 
the high school into the university or into business. 

The composition of the upper high school, besides emphasizing, through- 
out the three years, by continual practice, oral and written, and by continual 
analysis, the principles and habits of a correct and vigorous style, begins 
now to adapt itself to the needs of individual pupils and of small classes of 
pupils. * * * 

Whatever the special form of the composition may be, two principles are 
adhered to: That nothing which Igcks sincerity is worth saying; and that 
whatever is worth saying, is worth saying well. 

Training in the use of the public library, debating, presentation of class 
plays, the reading and writing of short stories, the study of high school journal- 
ism (its problems, materials, arrangements, and management) are all features 
of the new high school course in English, and are related to the spontaneous 
school activities of the pupils. 

,To give the pupils the background of our literary past and the large 
perspective that comes from looking at life through the eyes of such great 
masters as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Addison, Burke, Macauley, and Webster, 
is the definite purpose of the course in literature. 

Two truths are gained from this study: First, that all the greatest writers 
were essentially democrats and expressed freely the growing ideals of their 
time; and second, that since life is the field of literature, our own time must 
possess a literature of far more transcendent importance to us than any litera- 
ture of the past. 

From these two truths the pupils are led to a third. It is this: They can 
assist in making literature of their generation a noble one, both directly and 
indirectly; directly, if they have creative literary instinct; indirectly, if they 

157 



have the morality, the intelligence, and the sense of the beauty of things 
which are necessary to build up a special life worthy of expression in current 
literature. They make literature in either case — the literature itself, or the 
material for literature. 

Such reasoning, more or less conscious in the minds of the pupils, forms 
the basis for the comparative study of the old masterpieces and current litera- 
ture, even in its modern and vital form, the periodical. The study of the 
early novel culminates in the supplementary reading of one of to-day's best 
novels. The study of the eighteenth century essay culminates in the study 
of the articles in our best magazines. The study of Shakespeare culminates 
in the reading of Maeterlinck's Blue Bird. The study of Milton's Sonnets 
culminates in the reading of Richard Watson Gilder's Sonnets. 

If the pupils should have no further schooling, they would leave the 
high school furnished with the touchstone of true literature. They would be 
able to discriminate between what is worthy of study in modern writing, 
because it nobly expresses the elevated and enduring aspects of our present 
social life, and what is worthy of only cursory reading because it expresses, 
without the strength of art, the transitory aspects. 

It has too long been taken for granted that only future generations can 
separate the wheat from the chaff in the literature of the epoch. Even in 
the upper high school some literary connoisseurship can be acquired, which 
maturity of years and habitual reading will ripen. The cultivation of this 
literary art sense in order to apply it to some present-day literature is an 
important practical result of the study of literature. The to-day of literature 
should be made ours as well as the yesterday, for through it we enter into the 
richest part of the life of our times. 

In our English course we have tried to keep in mind that if these young 
people had elected business life or domestic life instead of school life, they 
would have found these years between the ages of 16 and 18 full of novel 
experience and shot through with the glory of doing things. Days of work 
in shop or office would have been paid for in money instead of with credits, 
and some of that money would have been transmuted into evening pleasures. 
Days of housework would have shown tangible results in dainty cookery or 
in neat furnishings, or in the pride of entertainment. So, if the high school 
robs the youth of the rich experience that active life in the world affords, it 
must offer a golden substitute that shall place the youth, on graduation, 
where he would have been with such world experience, but place him there 
equipped with keener vision, with warmer heart, and with readier hand, because 
of his education. 

The English course must do its share, and a large one, in bringing about 
this result. English teachers are only beginning to work out this new social 
plan in the study of literature and composition. * * * 

There is no reason for opening the door to science, to mathematics, to 
history, to literature, from this point of view, and locking it against languages. 
Many men and women secure their livelihood, directly or indirectly, through 
their special knowledge of language, just as there are many workers in each 
of the other departments whose special technical knowledge brings them 

158 



financial recompense. The world needs the scholar quite as much as it needs 
the artisan and the man of general business. The public school, if it function 
to the maximum in the life of the individual as well as of society, must make 
it possible for the potential artisan, the potential scientist, the potential 
linguist, to find himself. In theory, at least, the school should be able to 
open the eyes of every individual, that he may have a vision of himself in the 
completeness of his powers. This reason alone is sufficient to justify the 
offering of study in the field of language, though such study should not be 
made compulsory upon all nor should it be continued beyond the point when 
it is clear that the individual possesses no aptitude or liking for it. 

The earlier in the life of the pupil that this chance be given the better, 
for the golden hour of language study comes early, and when once passed the 
acquisition of a foreign tongue is well-nigh impossible. The seventh grade 
is not too early for the beginning of such study; indeed, if it were practicable, 
an earlier beginning than this even is desirable. However, by commencing 
with the seventh grade and continuing throughout the full secondary period 
of six or eight years, a high degree of mastery can be secured by those who 
develop an interest in such study. It need scarcely be said that this work 
should be directed by a vivacious teacher, who speaks the language fluently, 
and that the grammar of the language should be kept incidental and unob- 
strusive." (23) 



(23) McLean, pp. 153-158. 



159 



Part VI. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



A: 1—2. 



1. Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle, pp. 1-15-17. Edited by S. H. 

Butcher, M. B. London, Macmillan Company, Limited, New 
York: The Macmillan Company. Fourth Edition. 1907. 
(The Poetics of Aristotle is also found in Aristotle's Theory 
of Poetry and Fine Arts. Edited by S. H. Butcher, Litt. D., 
LL. D. Third edition, 1902.) 

2. Arnold, Matthew. Culture and Anarchy, pp. X, XIII, 7. London, 

Smith Elder and Company, 15 Waterloo Place. 1875. 

B: 3—6. 

3. Bates, Arlo. Talks on Teaching Literature— The Conditions. Part II, 

pp. 15, 20, 27. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New 
York. 1906. 

4. Bennett, Arnold. Literary Taste— How to Form It, pp. 68,69. 

George H. Doran, New York City. 

5. Burke, Edmund. A Philosophic Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas 

of the Sublime and the Beautiful; with an Introductory Dis- 
course concerning Taste — How Words Influence the Passions. 
Part VII, p. 97. Harper and Brothers, 329 and 331 Pearl St., 
Franklin Square, N. Y., 1860. Found also in Selections from 
Burke, by Bliss Perry, pp. 1-5. Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. 
1896. 

6. BONSER, Frederick G. Industrial Education, pp. 43-47. Teachers 

College, Columbia University, New York. 1914. 

C: 7—9. ' 

7. Carpenter, Baker and Scott. The Teaching of English in the Ele- 

mentary and the Secondary Schools, p. 46. Edited by J. E. 
Russel. Longmans, Green & Company, N. Y. 1904. 

8. Chubb, Percival. The Teaching of English. General Aims: Char- 

acteristics and Needs of the Adolescent Period, pp. 237-241. 
Edited by Nicholas Murray Butler. Macmillan Co., N. Y. 
1903. 

9. Cubberly, E. p. School Review. 19: 454-465. 1911. 



163 



D: 10—11. 

10. Davis, Jesse B. Vocational and Moral Guidance, p. 137. Ginn and 

Company, Boston, New York, Chicago, London. 1914. 

11. De Quincey, Thomas. Leaders in Literature with a notice of Tradi- 

tional Errors Affecting them. Vol. VIII, pp. 3-4-5-11. Edin- 
burgh, Adams and Charles Black. MDCCCLXIII. 



F: 12—13. 

12. Ford, Paul Leicester. The Many-Sided Franklin, pp. 106-116. 

The Century Company, New York. 1899. 

13. Fordyce, C. College Ethics. Education 33: 71-79. 1912. 



G: 14—16. 

14. Gayley, Charles Mills. Literary Criticism, pp. 222-228. Ginn & 

Co., Boston. 1910. 

15. Gayley, Charles Mills. Classical Myths — In Literature and Art, 

pp. XXX-XXXIII— 7. Ginn and Company, Boston, New 
York, Chicago, London. 1911. 

16. Gayler, G. W. Vocational Guidance in the high school. Psychological 

Clinic. 9:161-66. Nov. 15. 1915. 

H: 17—20. 

17. Hall, G. Stanley. Adolescence. V. II, pp. 442-446-456; 34-74-508. 

Adolescence and Literature. 

18. Harper's Weekly. The Value of Words. L. E. W. 57:5. July, 1916. 

19. Hosic, James F. Elementary Course in English, pp. 4-7. 

20. JuDD, Charles Hubbard. Psychology of High-School Subjects. Grave 

Dangers of Specialization, pp. 166-167; Problems of Litera- 
ture, Reaction to Content, pp. 197-199; Direct Sensory and 
Motor Processes, pp. 228-229. Ginn and Company, Boston, 
Chicago, London, San Francisco. 1915. 

L: 21—22. 

21. LONGINUS. On the SubUme. Translated by A. 0. Pickard. Oxford 

College. Section VIII, pp. 12-13. Five Sources of the Sublime; 
Choice of Words, p. 55. The Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1906. 

22. Luckey, G. W. a. Professional Training of Secondary Teachers in the 

U. S. Elementary and Secondary Teachers, pp. 233-236. 
Macmillan Co., 66 Fifth Avenue, New York. Mayer and 
Muller, Markgrafenstrasse, Berlin. 1903. 



164 



M: 23—24. 

23. McLean, Fannie. Purposes and Content of the English Courses in 

Berkeley Schools, pp. 153, 157 U S. Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, 1916. No. 8. Washington Government Printing 
Offices. 1916. 

24. MuNN & Company. Trade Marks. Trade Names, pp. 1-6-23. New 

York. 1912. 

N: 25—27. 

25. Nebraska High School Manual. Supplement in English to Bulletin 

of The University of Nebraska, pp. 24, 26, 28, 7, 8, 9, 10. 1914. 

26. Nutting, H. C. Cultural and Vocational (Editorial). The Classical 

Journal, 11:65-8. N. '15. No. 2. University of Chicago Press. 
Chicago, Illinois. 

27. Nye, Irene. The Genetic View-point of Language Teaching. The 

Classical Journal, vol. XI, No. 7, p. 428. April, 1916. 
University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IlHnois. 

28. Pound, Louise. Word-Coinage and Modern Trade-Names. Dialect 

Notes. Vol. IV, part I, pp. 29-41. Published by the Amer- 
ican Dialect Society. Printed by the Tuttle, Morehouse and 
Taylor Company. New Haven, Conn. 1913. 

P: 28—32. 

29. Public School Surveys: 

Minnesota, Minneapolis. National Society for the Promotion of 
Industrial Education, pp. 412-696. Bulletin No. 21. C. A. 
Prosser. 1916. 

30. Oregon, Portland. E. P. Cubberly and Staff. In School Efficiency. 

Edited by Paul E. Hanus, pp. 124-219. World Book Co., 
New York. 1915. 

31. Utah, Salt Lake City. E. P. Cubberly and Staff. Authorized by 

Board of Education. 1915. 

32. Virginia, Richmond. Bulletin of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Whole No. 162. Miscellaneous Series No. 7, pp. 287-289. 
Washington Government Printing Office. 1916. 

R: 33—33. 

33. Report of the National Joint Committee. On the Reorganization of 

High-School English. (Being now printed by U. S. Bureau 
of Education.) 

34. Sherman, L. A. Specialized Teaching of Literature. Poet-Lore, V. 6, 

pp. 381-383. 1894. 

S: 34—40. 

35. Sherman, L. A. English and English Literature in the College, pp. 42- 

56. Educational Review, No. 10. Henry Holt and Company, 
New York. 1895. 

165 



36. Sherman, L. A. Elements of Literature and Composition: Words, pp. 

3-28; Literary Phrases, pp. 53-67; 89-93. Figrures, pp. 68-93; 
Characterization, pp. 94-114. The University Publishing 
Company, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1908. 

Analytics of Literature: Poetic Phrases, pp. 52-59. Figures, 
pp. 60-86. Ginn and Company, Boston, New York, Chicago, 
London. 1893. 

Elements of Literary Composition (in preparation): Sense- 
Appeals; Vizualization. 

37. Sherwood, Margaret. Conserving our Spiritual Resources, pp. 888-9. 

North American Review, 171 Madison Avenue, N. Y. Dec, 
1916. 

38. Snbdden, David. The Problem of Vocational Education, pp. 3-4-9. 

Houghton, Mifflin Company, Boston, New York and Chicago. 
1910. 

39. Spencer, Herbert. The Philosophy of Style. Part I. Causes of 

Force in Language which Depends upon Economy of the 
Mental Energies. 1. The Principle of Economy Applied to 
Words, pp. 169-173. In Representative Essays on the Theory 
of Style, edited by William T. Brewster. 

40. Stuff, F. A. Does Modern Teaching Indurate Sensibility?, pp. 261-264. 

The Modern Review, Vol. XVI, No. 3. 1914. Calcutta. 

T: 41—44. 

41. Teachers College Record. Vol. XIV. May, 1913. No. 3. Curri- 

culum of Horace Mann School, English, p. 143. 

42. The Nation. The Way of Words. 91:543. N. '10. 

43. Thomas, Charles Swain. How to Teach English Classics, pp. 1-18. 

Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York and Chicago. 
Riverside Literature Series Extra Number 1. 1910. 

44. Tolstoi, Lyof N. What is Art? Vol. XX, pp. 19-43-45. Charles 

Scribner's Sons, New York. 1911. 

U: 45—48. 

45. U. S. Bureau of Education. Report of Committee of Ten. Bulletin, 

p. 86. Dec. 28, 1893. 

46. Reorganization of the Public School System. Bulletin No. 8, pp. 

49-65; 86-87-117. 1916. 

47. Needed Changes in Secondary Education. Bulletin No. 10, pp. 6-14; 

23-26. 1916. 

48. Vocational Guidance. Bulletin No. 14, p. 91. 1914. 

49 Wilson, H B. The Need of More Reality in English Composition and 
Grammar. The Nebraska Teacher, pp. 56-58 October, 1916. 

W: 49—50. 

50. Wolfe, Harry K. On the Color-Vocabulary of Children. University 
Studies, Lincoln, Nebraska. V. 1, No. 3, pp. 205-234. 

166 



INDEX OF NAMES' 



Aristotle 47 

Arnold, Matthew 48, 67, 70, 81 

B 

Bates, Arlo 71, 121-123 

Bennett, Arnold 13 

Bergson, M. Henri 70 

Berkeley, California 58, 59 

Bible 70 

Bonser, Frederick G 51-53 

Browning, Mrs 51 

Browning, Robert 52, 70, 75 

Bryant, W. C 52, 70 

Burke, Edmund 80, 140-142 

Butler, Nicholas Murray 45-47 



Carlyle, Thomas 51 

Carpenter, Baker & Scott 11, 12 

Chaucer, Geoffrey 45 

Chubb, Percival 49 

Coleridge, Samuel T 13 

Commercial Clubs 40-44 



Davis, J. B ...17-19 

De Quincey 12, 13, 19 



H 

Harper's Weekly. 69, 70 

Hardy, Thomas 76 

Hall, G. Stanley 45, 46, 53 

Hampton Institute, Va 47-49 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel 71 

Haslitt 13 

Herbert, George 64 

Hood, Thomas 51 

Horace Mann School 45 

Household Arts 16 

Hosic, James 47 

Hugo, Victor 52 

I 

Ibsen 45 

Industrial Arts 58, 83 



James, Henry 70 

Judd, Charles 73, 150-152 



Keats, John 67, 70, 72 

Kipling, Rudyard 51, 73-75 



Eliott, Charles W 63, 64 

Eliot, George 52 

Emerson, R. W 52, 64 



Fordyce, Charles 45 

Ford, Paul Leicester 11 

France 70 



Gayley, CM 80, 81 

Gaylor, G. W 50, 51 

Graves, C. I. M 75 



Lincoln, Abraham 19, 70 

Longinus 64, 68, 80 

Los Angeles, California 58, 59 

Luckey, G. W. A 60 

Lyttle, E. W 17 

M 

Maeterlinck . . . 69 

Maupassant 77 

McLean, Fannie. 155-159 

Munn & Co 66, 67 

Murray, Sir James 70 

Muller, Max.. 70 



* Index of subjects is found in the Bibliography. 
167 



PAGES 
N 

N. Joint Committee 13, 33, 47 

Nelson, Ernesto 63 

Nutting, H. C 147-149 

Nye, Irene 137-139 

P 

Parsons, F'rank 18 

Pater, Walter 69 

Pound, Louise 143-146 

Practical Arts' 16, 58 

Public School Surveys 23-33 

Spencer, Herbert 46, 69, 70 

Stevenson, R. L 75 

Stuff, F. A 90 

Supplement in English. ,65, 66, 75-77 
Swineburne, A. C 69, 70 

Q 

Questionnaire "A" 34-40 

Questionnaire "B" 40-44 

R 

Ruskin, John 65 

S 

Sainte-Beauve 48 

Scott, Walter 45 

Shakespeare, William 45, 70, 72 

Shelley, P. B 72, 73 

Sherman, L. A .65, 66, 71, 

76-79, 119-120 



PAGES 

s 

Sherwood, Margaret 46, 47 

Snedden, David 15, 16 

T 

Teaching Literature 71 

Technical Arts 58, 82 

Tennyson, Alfred 64, 70, 71 

The Nation 70, 71 

Thomas, C. Swain 62, 124-136 

Tolstoi, Lyof N 79, 80 

Turgenev 78 

U 

U. S. Bureau of Education 59-63 

U. S. Bulletin of Education 6-17 

U. S. Department of Labor 33 

Uniyersity Studies 69 

V 

Vocational Guidance 49 

W 

Wilson, Woodrow 75, 76 

Wilson, H.B 153, 154 

Wolfe, Harry K 69 

X 

Xenophon 

Y 

Yale College ' 



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